I Will Not Complain

This is what a client said to me yesterday, regarding her trials and tribulations at work, with her boyfriend, her landlord, her mechanic, etc., etc. But at times we all want to complain. I had two clients tell me they had termites in their furniture (Is there a conspiracy in the house?), one of them had water damage in her walls, another thought her boyfriend was cheating. One of my brides can't stand her new sister-in-law. But as we deconstructed each situation during Life Coaching, each event, each reaction, the bottom line was, "How will complaining about it serve you?" (Not a question that I asked, only thought about). Although unasked, each answered that very question with a variation on the theme -- their answers paralleling each other to an uncanny degree, "Well, I guess complaining about it won't help." I wish I could take credit for their new awareness(es), new perspectives. But all I did was listen and asked questions relative to how they felt, what actions they were going to take, and what a great (notice I didn't say "satisfactory") outcome would look like. What are the "wages of complaining?" Whiners' Mouth? The contrary to the previous concept is gratitude. You have termites. Be grateful you have a place to live. You have an impossible boss? Nothing says it like, "I'm grateful for my job." Life Coaching is a way in. And a way out of complaining. (This post is dedicated to JT, the model of an eternal optimist).