Nothing to Complain About

How long do you think you could go without complaining? Nothing, not even a whisper of a criticism about your best friend’s hideous shoes or gossip about the new neighbor’s noisy teenagers? A day? An hour? How about 21 consecutive days? I didn’t know what was in store the day I pulled an audio book called A Complaint Free World off the shelf at the library. I only needed something to listen to on a road trip, not a gauntlet thrown at me. But I accepted the challenge and took the next 125 very long days to reach the requisite 21 days.

How long do you think you could go without complaining? Nothing, not even a whisper of a criticism about your best friend’s hideous shoes or gossip about the new neighbor’s noisy teenagers? A day? An hour? How about 21 consecutive days? I didn’t know what was in store the day I pulled an audio book called A Complaint Free World off the shelf at the library. I only needed something to listen to on a road trip, not a gauntlet thrown at me. But I accepted the challenge and took the next 125 very long days to reach the requisite 21 days. All I knew was that my whining had reached fever pitch and I was tired of listening to myself. I couldn’t imagine how other people around me must be feeling. So, I took the challenge. During those 125 days, my father died and I joined a new faith group (on the same day), my livelihood was threatened, and I went to work for an international company only to be reminded that bigger isn’t always better. What was I thinking? Nothing to Complain About: My 125-Day Journey to Become Complaint Free is the day by day account of an experience that changed my life forever

Deborah Hansen is a 15-year veteran of the public school classroom in Jacksonville, Florida. Upon leaving the classroom, she spent the next 10 years working with teachers, administrators, and other professionals in the areas of character education, violence prevention, and conflict resolution. Now a full-time freelance writer, Ms. Hansen's first book, Broken Strings: Wisdom for Divorced and Separated Familes, is based on her personal experience raising a child as a single parent. She currently writes for First Coast Parent magazine and the Florida Times-Union, as well as continuing her work in the educational arena by writing curricula for PWImpact for struggling teen readers. Ms. Hansen lives with two cats who edit her work whether she wants their input or not.