21 Day Complaint Free Challenge pt 1

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." Maya Angelou

I was listening to a recording of a conversation between Brother David Steindhal-Rast and Joan Halifax Roshi the other day and they were talking about 'gratitude' which is Brother David's main practice, and 'complaining'. During the conversation Brother David mentioned that a friend had given him a purple bracelet with "www.acomplaintfreeworld.org" on it and told him about the 21 day complaint-free challenge. He then wore it to a Peace Conference and man came up to him and said "I started this." That was Will Bowen a minister from Kansas City, Missouri who wanted to find a way to help his congregation become more positive and decided to challenge them and himself to go 21consecutive days without complaining, gossiping or criticizing. Brother David decided to take the challenge thinking 'Well, I don't complain much. I will probably be looking for opportunities to complain." He was surprised to find that even as a Benedictine monk andBuddhist, living in a religious community and teaching all over the world for the last 30+ years, he still complained about the same silly stuff that most people do.

I was inspired by the talk and went to the website to check it out. I read the story of Will Bowen and his congregation and how they went from helping that group change their attitudes and their lives to distributing bracelets to over 6 million people worldwide. They started distributing purple silicone wristbands to be used as a reminder during the complaint-free challenge. The agreement was that you start on one wrist and began your count, but if you complained you would shift the bracelet to the other wrist and start your count over. It is fine to complain to yourself but not to complain to someone else. Some people dropped out but the majority kept with it as did Will Bowen and it changed their attitudes, their relationships and their lives in significant ways. More than that it started a movement that to date has over 6 million participants worldwide.

I was so excited by what I read I decided right then to do the challenge myself and invite anyone who wanted to step up for positive change to join me. I have set up a group page, 21 Day Complaint Free Challenge where I will be posting my thoughts, my experience and my progress during the challenge and where I hope you will be joining me to share your experience as well. Anyone who joins the challenge on the 21 Day Complaint Free Challenge group page will get a free purple wristband from Complaint Free World, the non-profit organization that started the challenge. Wearing the bracelets is a wonderful way to track your progress, foster community and show our support for this global effort to change our behavior and evolve as souls.

That's it! Now don't wait, go to the event page and sign-up for the challenge and make today day one. The rules for the challenge are on the group page and you don't need a wristband to start a rubber band will do, but if you want one just send your mailing address to me in a Facebook message. Be sure to tell your friends, post it on your Facebook page and Tweet it. We are trying to change the world by what we energetically put into it and the greater the effort the greater the impact.