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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 158.1
EAN num: 9780385524582
ISBN number: 0385524587
Label: Doubleday
Manufacturer: Doubleday
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 192
Printing Date: October 16, 2007
Publishing house: Doubleday
Release Date: October 16, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 3556
Studio: Doubleday
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“A Complaint Free World is an engaging, enjoyable, easy-to-read reminder that the only permanent, constructive changes you can make in the world are the changes that you make in yourself.”
–Gary Zukav, author of The Seat of the Soul and Soul to Soul
A SIMPLE PLAN... A LIFE-CHANGING RESULT...
A HAPPIER LIFE
·What exactly is a complaint? (Chapter 1)
·Why is complaining destructive? (Chapters 2-3)
·How can I get others around me to stop complaining? (Chapter 3)
·How can we affect social change if we don't complain? (Chapter 5)
·Why is it so hard to stop complaining? (Chapters 4-6)
·What happens once I no longer complain? (Chapter 8)
You may have pondered these questions yourself. Since the Complaint Free program began, Will Bowen has received hundreds of calls, letters and emails asking these and other important questions. In A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted, he provides practical answers and includes inspiring and touching stories from people just like you who have transformed their lives by becoming Complaint Free.
Over 6 million people in more than 80 countries have taken the Complaint Free challenge and their lives are a testament to the positive effects of this simple idea. Find out how forming the simple habit of not complaining can transform your health, relationships, career and life.
In your hands, you hold the secret to transforming your life. Big words? Yes, but this is a plan that has already proven itself with millions of people around the world. Pastor Will Bowen developed the life-changing A Complaint Free World plan based on the simple idea that good things will happen for you in abundance if you can just leave your grumbling behind. In a Sunday-morning sermon, Will told his congregation he wanted to make the world a complaint-free zone and, to prove he was serious, he passed out purple bracelets to each church member and offered them a challenge. 'If you catch yourself complaining, take the bracelet and move it to the other wrist.'
Now, less than a year later, more than six million people have taken up the challenge, trying to go twenty-one consecutive days without complaining, criticizing, or gossiping, and in so doing, forming a new, positive habit. By changing your words, you can change your thoughts and then begin to create your life by design. People have shared stories with Will of chronic pain relieved, relationships healed, careers improved, and becoming an overall happier person. Less pain, improved health, satisfying relationships, a better job, being more serene and joyous—sound good? It’s not only possible, it’s probable. Consciously striving to reformat your mental hard drive is not easy, but you can start now by using the steps Bowen presents here.
In this book, you can learn what constitutes a complaint, why we complain, what benefits we think we receive from complaining, how complaining is destructive to our lives, and how we can get others around us to stop complaining. You will learn the steps to eradicating this poisonous form of expression from your life. If you stay with it, you will find that not only will you not complain, but others around you will cease to do so as well. In a short period of time, you can have the life you’ve always dreamed of having.
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Rated by buyers 
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This book really made me think about what I say and do and how it not only effects others and my relationships but also my own emotional and mental health and well being. Recommend this book for anyone who is looking to further define themself.
Rated by buyers 
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Even if you don't get the book, try the experiment. Get their bracelet (or use a jelly bracelet, or one of your own) and put it on your wrist. Each time you catch yourself grumbling or complaining or criticizing something or someone, put the bracelet on the other wrist. In my very first day, I must have changed it 7 times in the very first hour. I was shocked, and intrigued...enough to try it for nearly a week before I gave up. That was a year ago, and I still think about that bracelet every week. And yes, I'm far less critical than I used to be. Now, I do neuroscientific research on meditation, spirituality, and optimism, and I think that this little gimmick is a gem. Why? Because every time you foster a critical thought, your brain releases a cascade of stress chemicals which eventually damages the very circuits that control anxiety and irritability. So a little exercise like this can have a profound effect on neural functioning, which is why Andrew Newberg, MD, and I talked about the Reverend Bowen's bracelet and his vision of a complaint-free society in our book, How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist. Oh, and one more thing, which we thoroughly discuss in our book: every time you complain in public, your irritability-like a virus-is neurologically picked up by every person who hears your voice or sees your face. So by all means, train your brain to be optimistic and positive because (according to 30+ years of longitudinal research conducted by Duke University and the Mayo Clinic), it will literally add years to your life.
PS: Check out their website (acomplaintfreeworld.com) for tips for teaching children to become "complaint aware." Interestingly, a Missouri congressman was so impressed by the idea that he just introduced a bill into congress calling for a "Complaint-Free Wednesday," the day before Thanksgiving. I hope it passes....
Rated by buyers -
I found this to be extremely difficult to follow but it's well worth it. I read the book and listened to the CD in my car. I enjoyed it so much, I ordered the bracelets and CD for work and hopefully we'll create a small group to meet weekly, listen to a chapter and discuss it along with our personal experiences.
Rated by buyers 
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I saw this book lying around my office: probably it was a review copy. So I picked it up. It didn't take long to read (and it didn't take long to write either). So here's the deal. Order a "complaint free" bracelet from a website (address thoughtfully provided). Wear it on your wrist. Every time you complain, gossip or criticize, switch it to the other wrist. Result: in 4 to 8 months, you will reach the goal of not complaining about anything for 21 days straight. You will be HAPPY. You will be SECURE. You will know BLISS. You will be assured of salvation in the life hereafter.
This book is written by the lead pastor of a church in Kansas City, Missouri. It includes nuggets realy profound and hard-earned wisdom such as: "I finally looked at the word insecure. It's the opposite of secure." (page 79.) "I discovered that the word spirit comes from the Latin word spiritus (page 89). "If you will begin to call the people and events in your life by names that spur positive energy in yourself, you will find that they no longer bother you and in fact can be a real bonon for you." (page 104.) "To criticize means to find fault with someone or something."
Far be it from me to criticize! So by all means read this book. It's only 176 pages long. It won't take too much of your time. And once you've read it, you too will be able to "start enjoying the life you always wanted." It's that easy, isn't it?
Rated by buyers -
The very first thing to understand about A Complaint Free World is that Will Bowen is NOT saying to be a doormat! He explicitly says "Directing a comment to someone who can improve your situation is not complaining." He says "I am NOT advocating remaining silent when there is something that has happened which you need corrected." His assistant, Marcia, says "It is NOT about stuffing your emotions in and putting on a Pollyanna face."
What they are going on is Dr. Robin Kowalski's definition, which was used in a famous study on complaining. "Whether or not the particular statement reflects a complaint ... depends on whether the speaker is experiencing an internal dissatisfaction."
So it's important to know this up front. This book is ALL for speaking out, speaking up, making changes, seeking improvements. It is about doing those things in a way that keeps you healthy, and will best reach your goals.
So, with that being understood, what is this book about? Will Bowen was trying to inspire his church members to live more attentive lives. Many of them had financial difficulties. The financial planning books they had talked about how complaining did little good to help - that people had to face their problems head on, work out solutions, and then work through them with energy and focus.
Will liked this idea and thought he could help people with the complaining part at least. He ordered 500 purple wrist bands that said "spirit", passed them out, and asked everyone to try not complaining for 21 days. If you complained, you moved the wrist band to the other wrist and started counting again. The moving-the-band was key - it was a physical action, something that your brain began to pay attention to.
People thought this would be easy - and then discovered they had to move the band 20 times in one day! Will himself broke 3 bands with all the moving before he succeeded. The average person who tries this takes 4-8 MONTHS before they succeed. However, they improve as time goes - and they report being SO much happier by the end.
Why?
"You can best get what you desire by expressing what you WANT rather than complaining about the way things are." People actually made far more progress in their lives when they phrased their desires in a way that enticed action, instead of in a way that was negative. Listeners get defensive and hostile at criticism - but they feel drawn to help if you are going for a positive goal.
"You have a right to get what you deserve. To achieve this don't talk about or focus on the problem. Focus BEYOND the problem." This is echoed in many other books. What you focus on is what you tend to get. If you complain about being fat and unhappy, you'll probably stay fat and unhappy! If you talk about your goals to go walking more, and your desire to go walking, I bet people will cheer you on and offer to go walking with you.
As Earl Nightingale says, "We become what we think about".
They have distributed 6 million FREE bracelets already, so this is resonating with a lot of people.
Will lays out the four stages of achieving mastery of ANY subject, including non-complaining.
* Unconscious incompetence
* Conscious incompetence
* Conscious competence
* Unconscious competence
What this means is we start out trying a new thing without realizing just how hard it could be. That's fine, otherwise we might not even try smile So with complaining, we start out thinking "heck that's easy" and then realize just how much we DO complain. So we're now conscious of how much work is ahead of us. But then over time, we get much better at it with attention - and finally it is a normal healthy part of our lives and we do it naturally.
The Psychological Bulletin study on complaining found that many complain to get sympathy, attention, or to dodge out of doing something. They even found that doctors felt 2/3rds of all visits to them were based on something mental / emotional! For example, someone gets extremely stressed by work - and this drives up their blood pressure. Think of how much more healthy we could all be if we found a better way to deal with stress and issues!
Ben Franklin said "The best sermon is a good example." Will points out that you shouldn't complain about others complaining smile Don't try to change others. Just be yourself, and don't "feed" their complaining. You might find they change naturally when they don't have a complaining buddy!
Will emphasizes that this is NOT about being a passive doormat. Martin Luther King Jr had his dream. Rosa Parks took her seat and held it. They had a positive vision of the future, and they went for it. They achieved great things.
He reminds you to think about why you are complaining, if you do. Criticizing a place (like a cheap restaurant) if often a form ... Read More
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