You might not want to hear it, but complaining is a chronic habit that ultimately keeps you stuck. Have you ever tried to go through your entire day without making one complaint? It’s not easy. How about an entire month?
Maybe you’re not even aware of how often you complain because it’s become so habitual. For many of us, complaining has become our standard mode of operation. We complain the audition takes too long. We complain about traffic. We complain about the line at the grocery store.
Then we get together with our friends and they start to complain. We chime in easily and add to it until everyone is bonding over a big, warm, complaint bonfire.
You’re stuck in a complaining loop that’s doing you far more harm than good. Ready to break that loop and get unstuck? Become mindful of how often you complain and stop yourself in your tracks as soon as it starts. In fact, I invite you to join me in making the next 30 days complaint-free. Here are three steps to making it happen.
An Actor’s Comprehensive Guide to Self-Care Step 1: Get up every morning and state, “I declare today as my complaint-free day.”
Step 2: Put a bracelet or rubber band on your wrist. Every time you catch yourself complaining, switch the band to the other arm. The act of catching yourself and switching the bracelet or band will create a moment of conscious awareness. (This exercise is inspired by Will Bowen’s book, “A Complaint Free World.”)
Step 3: Celebrate your new awareness and begin again. Don’t beat yourself up for complaining. Instead, recognize the fact that you caught yourself. It’s only when you acknowledge your habits that you can transform them.
This act of mindfulness will also help train your subconscious mind to perceive and appreciate more of the amazing blessings, beauty, and bounty in your life on a daily basis.
When you begin to make this complaint-free mode of operation a habit, not only will you feel better, but you’ll also begin to light up in a different way. When you choose to have more complaint-free days, others might ask what you’re doing or notice that you have changed. Some may even be bummed that you don’t chime in anymore as they get cozy around the complaint bonfire.
But one thing is for sure: Do this every day for one month and I know you will have altered who you are being. That is the key to not only getting unstuck but also to creating major breakthroughs for yourself.
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and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
