I have a challenge for you, and I’ll be doing this myself as well. I challenge you and me to not complain at all for seven days straight. Let me explain why this “Stop Complaining for a Week Challenge” is so important.
Based on the recommendation of a friend, I’m reading the book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. I’ve been working on my mindset around money. Mindset work is a daily practice. We will never get perfect at it as there is always more to learn. I’m also interested in building wealth outside of a corporate job.
One of the exercises in this book is to consciously stop complaining for seven days in a row. You won’t be good at it in the beginning of the week, but by the end you should feel a shift.
What is my reason for not complaining?
What you focus on expands. When you complain about your life, you are actually attracting more of what you are complaining about into your life.
Complaining can take several forms: talking negatively about people, things, and events, blaming others for your misfortunes, or justifying your lack of initiative, negative behavior and thoughts.
When you think about it, people who complain a lot always seem to have a tough life. What they don’t realize is that they are creating that life. You get what you expect.
I try not to be a complainer, but sometimes it can feel good momentarily. I have to admit to falling into the comfort zone and camaraderie of voicing shared woes with other people. We’ve all done it at work, at school, with our siblings or friends. It unites people, but in a negative way. Complaining is a trap.
It also lets us out of blame. We start to place the blame for all of the negative things in our lives, for all of our shortcomings, our feelings of unrest, of inadequacy, our lack of motivation, on outside sources. When in reality, we are the ones creating our lives all along.
This exercise gets you out of that, and makes you take responsibility for your own thoughts and actions. As T. Harv Eker says, “Thoughts lead to feelings, feelings lead to actions, and actions lead to results.”
The “Stop Complaining for a Week Challenge” Details
For the next seven days, I challenge you to not complain at all, not out loud, not even in your head. Every time a complaining thought comes into your mind, stop it by reminding yourself that you are the creator of your life and experiences. You can either use your thoughts to attract success or failure. Don’t be a victim of your own negative thinking. Choose your thoughts with care. They are creating your life.
You’ll find that by the end of the week, you won’t have to think about it as much, and the non-complaining will come with ease. You’ll be attracting positive energy into your life, and good things will start happening for you. You will be more successful and feel happier.
At the end of each day, T. Harv Eker suggests doing a debrief. Write down one thing that went well and one thing that didn’t go well that day. Then ask yourself, “How did I create each of these situations?” This exercise keeps you accountable for your life, and helps you test strategies that are working for you and ones that are not.
Are you with me? Will you take the Stop Complaining for a Week Challenge? Let me know how your life improves over the next seven days.
Be positive!
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