Toward A Complaint-Free Life

                   

"When you complain, you make yourself a victim. Leave the situation, change the situation, or accept it. All else is madness." - Eckhart Tolle

Complaining, griping, kvetching - we all do it, right? Complaining can be a habit and, for most of us, it's pretty easy to get others to commiserate with us. It can even feel anti-social not to join in someone else's bitch session. But is complaining really a habit worth continuing?

Facebook Memories reminded me I had engaged in a complaint-free week in 2011. It was an interesting and revealing week. Here's a recap:

Day #1. For the next seven days, I'm committed to living a Complaint-Free life. Zero tolerance for complaining or blaming.

[I got the idea from Will Bowen, the founder of an organization called A Complaint Free World. I posted my commitment and invited Facebook friends to join in.]

Day #2. It's natural to notice things we don't like. That's the contrast that inspires desire. The contrast also sets up a crossroads. We can complain and attract more of what we don't like OR we can make peace with what-is, focus on what we prefer and attract more of the good stuff.

[I get to choose how I respond and it matters very much what I choose. As A Course in Miracles proclaims, "I could choose love instead!" Or fun... or joy... or... ]

Day #3. I notice my tendency to complain when I have to wait - at the chiropractor's office, checking out at the grocery store, etc. I'm wondering - Is complaining a response to feeling powerless?

[It may feel like I'm taking my power back when I complain, but complaining actually lowers my vibration and exacerbates my feeling of powerlessness.]

Day #4. The weather forecast calls for a high of 108 here in Austin. Rather than complaining about the heat, I intend to appreciate the air conditioning and imagine cool crisp fall weather coming.

[Myneighbor was bemoaning the heat wave that day and I responded that I'd love to join in but I had committed to a complaint-free week. We both laughed.]

Day #5. I bet if we REALLY got it that we create our own reality, instead of complaining about a reality we don't like, we'd get busy creating a reality we prefer.

[Complaining only brings us more to complain about.]

"Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle." - Benjamin Franklin

Day #6. If I say it's too damn hot or this traffic sucks or why did she cut my hair so short, I'm complaining. If I say it's really hot, there's a lot of traffic today, she sure cut my hair short this time, I'm noticing. One is a complaint and one is an observation. And the vibrational difference is huge.

[This was a fun realization. I can notice what-is without complaining about it.]

Day #7. Calls to customer service departments have often been less than a cakewalk for me so I set a strong intention before calling AT&T today. It worked! I sailed through the entire call without complaint and proved that - with the right attitude - I can enjoy every moment of this physical life experience.

[How empowering to know that it's possible to enjoy any situation. Well, if not enjoy, at least accept.]

Revisiting my Complaint-Free Week reminded me:

*how much easier it is to maintain a high vibration when I refuse to give in to blaming and complaining.

*I can always choose a better feeling response.

*instead of complaining about a reality I don't like, I can focus on the reality I prefer and, thus, create a better feeling experience.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Toward-A-Complaint-Free-Life&id=9522993

Please Do Get Your Hopes Up (By Kathryn Corbin)

Expect something good to happen to you every day." - Joyce Meyer

"Don't Get Your Hopes Up!" We've heard that advice all our lives. Family, friends, books and movies have all warned us not to get our hopes up. It's part of our popular culture. You may even say it yourself, but did you ever think about what you're saying?

Don't Get Your Hopes Up is possibly the worst guidance ever. It's advising us not to hope and not to have desires - which can only result in a low vibration.

Like most people, I absorbed this teaching by osmosis. I also remember when I said it for the last time.

I was in my 20's and I was telling my brother about a job I really wanted, adding that I'm not getting my hopes up about it. Whereupon my older, wiser brother - who had by that time studied Eastern philosophy in India - pointed out how stupid I was being - as only a sibling can! He went on to explain why not getting my hopes up is ridiculous. Thank you, dear bro, for waking me up.

So why IS it ridiculous to avoid getting our hopes up? Besides the fact that it's unnatural to quash our hopes and dreams and besides the fact that it keeps our vibration low, it's all fear-based.

It's based on some crazy fear that if we don't get what we're hoping for, we'll end up feeling disappointed. But I ask you, is disappointment really too much to bear? Isn't disappointment a part of life that most of us learned by age 5 is survivable?

Here's the most significant thing. To refuse to get our hopes up is to ignore the Law of Attraction. Because hope is a high vibration. Because the power of hope and positive expectation actually help us attract what we want. Because hope works for us, not against us!

"If you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?" - from the movie, South Pacific

Plus, I hasten to add, hope feels good! Refusing to be hopeful is a missed opportunity to feel good. And, since we know that feeling good is the best way to attract what we want, refusing to hope is like shooting yourself in the foot.

If you don't get what you want, you'll live; you'll grow; you'll get greater clarity; something better will come along. But if you continue suppressing your hope, you won't live well.

And one more thing. Refusing to get our hopes up does not guarantee we'll avoid disappointment. In fact, refusing to hope sets us up for disappointment.

Two questions:

*Do you want it?

*Will you allow yourself to have it?

If yes and yes, then absolutely do get your hopes up. Get them up as high as possible. Ride the high vibrational energy of positive expectation and enjoy the journey. If it doesn't happen, so what? Focus on the next desire with all the hope you can muster. And keep hope alive!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Please-Do-Get-Your-Hopes-Up&id=9483293