Gratitude Bracelet Helps Stop Complaints

How do you guard against complaining? It is so easy to complain. Too many times complaining is our first response. Such words seem to be on auto-pilot.

Will Bowen started this 21 day challenge.  He sells a purple, rubber bracelet stamped with the words, “Complaint Free.” Cute and effective, I am sure.

But I want to be more than complaint free. I want to be filled with solutions and GRATITUDE.

Thus I bought a silver (plated) bracelet with Gratitude stamped on it. And like Bowen’s challenge states, I put it on one wrist. Every time I complain, I switch it to the other wrist. My experiment is over when the bracelet stays on one wrist for 21 days in a row. Hopefully a new habit has been formed by that time.

To counter-balance the negativity coming out of my mouth, I will use fruitful words. If/when I complain, I want to think about the situation and say how I can be grateful because of the situation or in-spite of the situation. And if there is one, I want to state a solution.

Complaining is a basic foundation of many of our conversations. When we greet one another, we often complain about the weather, our busy lives, and how tired we are. I actually thought I was immune to that.

Unfortunately I am not immune to this surface, mindless chatter. On Day 3 (of #Write31Days), I greeted a friend and she initiated our conversation by stating how cold she was. I replied back, “And I am HOT! I hate being hot.” No solutions were offered by either, just the complaint.

I was embarrassed by how easily I added my complaint.

I moved my bracelet and spoke my words of solution and gratitude. . . . I am grateful that I can easily cool down with a fan or iced beverage. . . . I am grateful that in-spite of the heat, I won’t get a sunburn [I was indoors] and soon the weather will cool down.

I am now on Day 8 of no complaining. I started this experiment on October 1st. Because the bracelet moves around on my wrist, I am constantly reminded about my intention to not complain. I don’t normally wear bracelets. If you do, maybe this wouldn’t be a helpful remembering tool for you.

Your Turn . . . 

1. Do you find that complaining is a mindless, automatic response more times than you’d like to admit? If yes, how do you combat that?
2. How do the complaints of others impact you?
3. Do you think something like a bracelet would help you stop complaining? Why or why not?

Related Resources . . . 

• Choosing Gratitude As a Way of Living & Feeling
• The Gratitude Diaries: How a Year Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform Your Life by Janice Kaplan. This is one of the best books I’ve read on the subject.
• 31 Days of Finishing (2014 #Write31Days series)
• Finding Laughter (2015 #Write31Days series)

Today is Day 10 of the #Write31Days online writing challenge. My topic is 31 Days of Fruitful Words INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING. I know I will be challenged in more ways than writing every day. If you’d like to have more fruitful words coming from your mouth, please join me from October 1-31, 2016.

Go here for the landing page which has all the posts from this series.

Go here to see what #Write31Days is all about, the categories and the bloggers who are participating.