Can We Stop Complaining?

Susan Hines-Brigger wrote a great article "Can We Stop Complaining?" for the November 2008 issue of St. Anthony's Messenger. Complaining is considered just a part of life in our society. Perhaps we are just born with an innate desire to complain. I know I complained quite a bit as a child, and my children certainly have no problem expressing their displeasure with things. Complaining can be useful when it serves to rectify the problem. Complaining just to complain, however, does nothing but put a negative spin on life. Hines-Brigger writes of Rev. Will Bowen, minister of Christ Church Unity in Kansas, who encouraged his parishioners to give up complaining for 21 days (long enough to make it a habit). The website acomplaintfreeworld.org/ features bracelets and educational programs designed to help people realize the value of not complaining. There is even a push to have the day before Thanksgiving declared "National Complaint-Free Day." That makes sense because complaining is the opposite of being thankful. If we are complaining, we are saying that we do not appreciate what we have.

So, I invite all of you to take up the challenge. Try to take notice of when you complain and try to stop yourself before the words come out of your mouth. Yes, you may find that you need to talk less, but before you know it, you will find that there are many other positive things to say.