Monday, March 19, 2007

24 Hours With No Complaints

I spent the last couple of days (some of the time, anyway) reading a book called "Positive Words, Powerful Results". It's a little puzzling to me WHY this book was on my bookshelf, or rather why I bought it in the first place a few years ago. I barely remember it. Anyway, I was curious enough to read it. And really, I'm so glad I did.

There's no earth shattering news or advice here, but like so many self-helpy books, it's a good reminder of the things you already know.

But one thing that really got me thinking was this: The author, who is also a high school teacher, tells of his challenge he's posed over the years to about 16,000 (sixteen thousand- just so we're clear here) to go for 24 hours without complaining. You may be wondering, "Ok, how many people succeeded?" You might then be sad to learn that only a handful of people were able to do it. To go without complaining for 24 hours. How hard can this really be? I haven't actually attempted it myself yet (why not? hmmm..... ) but I'm getting really close to giving it a go. I think I CAN! But the author might be on to something when he says that we often socially bond by our complaining. About the weather. About the long lines in retail. About something we've just read in the paper. About how tired we are. The list is sort of endless. Just reading this has made me mindful of my own complaining. And whenever you become aware of something, you magically become better at controlling it.

So think about this 24-hour of no complaining idea. And spread the word. Who knows what might happen!

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