The No Complaints Zone

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“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.” Benjamin Franklin

None of us like dealing with people who complain and even less those who consistently whine. But we all do it sometimes, don't we? Just like giving unasked for advice to others we are often best served by taking that counsel ourselves. So when a friend recently proposed starting a 'no complaints zone' for a week on social media - my response was 'how about a no complaining ever zone?' Then like any pontificating fool I was forced to look within. Be the "change you want to see in the world" the man said and so I committed to myself to walk the talk. Then I thought ok, complaining may be a natural (learned) tendency for us. That means I will have to reframe it, like any addiction, and replace the behavior with a more positive and productive 'addiction'. What's the solution? Whenever you feel the urge to complain about service, attitudes, performance or just plain old 'flakiness' Do this: Reframe your thoughts and response into an OPPORTUNITY. An opportunity to communicate and improve ourselves. An opportunity to enhance your communication skills. An opportunity to think of and propose solutions or better ways of doing things. Or you can complain and whine and give the other person an opportunity to categorize you as a complainer and a whiner. "Be the change you want to see in the world."

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