We all have goals, or at least expectations, about the results we should see in our businesses (and personal lives). When the results you want don’t come as quickly as you want them do you fuss and complain or do you pause to recognize how far you have come and feel grateful for where you are?
What Complaining Gets You
People don’t complain about what’s working—they complain about the things that are not quite right or are downright broken. The problem is that for every situation you can choose to focus on what’s working if you want to, yet many people get stuck complaining because that is where their habits take them.
If you believe that you get more of that which you focus your attention and energy, you can see that complaining about the lack of customers won’t bring more customers, just as complaining about errors at a little league baseball game won’t bring a major-league caliber performance.
Have you ever noticed when you have had a bad day that things seem to build upon each other—events that are mildly frustrating soon become a self-fulfilling prophesy of “nothing going right”!
The Emotional Accelerator
Gratitude and appreciation are powerful emotions. When you allow yourself to stay focused on what is working and what is good, no matter how the events are stacking up negatively, you will begin to see an internal shift that keeps any “bad day” scenarios from taking hold.
On your birthday, do you feel grateful for the amazing gifts you receive, or do you complain like Harry Potter’s cousin Dudley that there are not enough gifts this year? Poor Dudley provides the perfect example of what YOU look like when you complain and focus on the bad rather than the good.
Try This Experiment
For the next 24 hours, give up complaining. Replace complaining with a short pause to notice what is working (even if it’s just one small thing!). Allow yourself to appreciate what is working and genuinely feel grateful, even for a moment, that things are starting to work out in your favor. As you do this you can then expect to see better results.
In my experience, you will soon notice your results will follow your positive attitude and positive expectations. And THAT is something that you can feel grateful about!
