My Story ... Why I Took the Challenge

Today, I thought I'd share my story

My husband works for a government contractor and does a lot of traveling for them.  A few years ago, his business trips lasted 3 months at a time.  He was 6 time-zones away and worked in a secure facility where he couldn't make or receive outside calls.  As you may imagine this made phone conversations a bit difficult to arrange.   To top it off, he was in a tropical climate (Hawaii) and I was in cold, snowy Massachusetts!

It seemed like every time I turned around something “difficult” was happening that would have been easier if he had been at home (lots of snow, difficulty getting the snow-blower started, dog having an accident in the house because he wouldn't go outside in deep snow ... you get the picture).  So, when my husband called, I found myself giving him the litany of things going badly … pretty much EVERY time he called I had something to complain about.  

Then one evening, when I hung up the phone I thought, “What EXACTLY is his incentive for calling me tomorrow?”   That’s when I realized something HAD to change and that something was ME!

On my next trip to the library, I came across Will Bowen’s book on the new non-fiction shelf.  It called my name ... it was actually amazing that I had my revelation and a solution just appeared!  I read the book from cover to cover.  It was full of inspirational stories of the people whose lives had been changed by taking the challenge.  I went on line and ordered my purple bracelet and decided to take the challenge, too.  

The rules are simple:

·        The only time you can voice a complaint is if you can affect a change by speaking up to a person who can make the change happen.

·        You wear a purple bracelet on your wrist to remind you of your pledge.

·        Every time you complain about something you cannot change, switch the bracelet to your other wrist.  EVERY TIME … even if it’s 20 times a day!

·        Keep track of the number of consecutive days you’ve worn the bracelet on the same wrist … without switching.  You can download a free widget from the Complaint Free World website to your computer that will automatically advance the count daily.  Push the "Start Over" button whenever you make a switch!

·        When you reach 21 days on the same wrist, you have become complaint free!

  Sound easy?  Well it isn't ... but it was the most worthwhile challenge I have ever taken.