What would life be like if we decided to be complaint-free?
Table of contents
A Complaint-Free World?
If you haven’t heard of this movement, it was created by Will Bowen. He’s the lead minister of the One Community Spiritual Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
As an innovative Christian leader, he gave a sermon one day about the damaging nature of continuous complaining. He pictured what a great place a complaint-free world would be.
His congregation helped him come up with the idea of the 21-day challenge. Participants vow not to verbalize any complaints for 21 days.
A purple Complaint-Free Bracelet is worn. Should the person accidentally verbalize the complaint, the bracelet needs to be switched to the other wrist. Then you need to complete the process for a further 21 days. Definitely a challenge!
The 21-day Complaint-Free World Program: My Experience
I decided to join the program about 5 years ago. I started it at the beginning of a vacation, thinking that might be easier.
I’ll confess, I switched the bracelet several times during the first few days. I was traveling with my husband and 2 small children. Still, I kept at it.
In Disneyland Trying To Disconnect From Complaining
It was a really hot day (around 95 degrees plus humidity). It was my turn to line up and buy some food whilst my then-husband took care of the children. I lined up at a hotdog stand and found myself waiting a while.
Like a ripple or a wave, the complaints started at the second from front and headed backwards towards me. The two people in front of me started discussing and complaining. They were talking about how long exactly their hotdogs would be and then turned to include me in the discussion.
I smiled and held up my wrist with the bracelet on it. I said, “Sorry, I can’t join in – I’ve taken the Complaint Free World Challenge!”
Neither of the people involved asked me for any details, but the complaint chain was broken. Soon the hotdogs started making their way down the line.
A Complaint-Free World: Free Up Some Energy By Breaking The Habit
Disconnecting from the energy of complaining in that line was a big shift for me.
I suddenly felt free to think my own thoughts whilst I was waiting. It was also a nice break from the hubbub of being in Disneyland. Suddenly I felt really relaxed – my world really was complaint-free in that moment.
When working with this program, it’s really important to read the material. You will need to understand the difference between verbalizing a complaint and making a statement.
If you do decide to try the Complaint Free World program, you’ll discover that your language skills will improve too. Always a bonus!
A Complaint-Free World – Resources
To start this program, you can check out the Complaint Free World website.
And as Will Bowen says in his book: Complaint Free Relationships, the next time you need to make a public ‘complaint’: –
- Take a deep breath to keep your energy balanced (even if you’re annoyed) and
- begin your sentence ‘You may not be aware of this, but….‘
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[…] Bowen is the ‘Complaint Free’ guy, I wrote that post in early September of 2011 – great to know that posts from the past can still get […]