"I Absolutely Hate It!"

Day #4: I already owe $25.

Yesterday seemed better, until a 9th period English II student cheerfully calculated, “No, Mrs. G, you are doing just as bad as yesterday and the day before!”

I corrected her grammar (badly, not bad!) and was unjustly accused of criticism.

I hate this challenge, I thought!

(But not aloud…that would have cost me another dollar!)

But I can’t feel persecuted for long, as dozens of students are taking the Complaint-Free challenge alongside me. Even students who aren’t in my English classes have stopped by my classroom, “Hey, Mrs. G, can I get one of those purple bracelet thingies?”

One senior shared some great insights after Day 1:

I didn’t think [this challenge] would be hard. I figured I don’t really complain, criticize, or gossip. But after just one day, I’ve already learned a lot about myself.

I complain a lot. I never even realized that one way I start conversations is by complaining about something. I found myself switching the wrist band so many times!

I absolutely hate it when people complain. I find it absolutely obnoxious. And as a Choleric, I am a do-er. Something I say is, “Don’t complain. Do something about it.” So I find it comical that the one thing that I absolutely hate, I do. I complain so much.

But I also realized that in order for me to do something about my issue, I need to complain about it first. That way, I make it known to myself and others that it’s a big issue, and it makes me want to fix it. I need to find a better way to motivate myself to fixing things.

I also never noticed that when I am around certain friends, I gossip, which is another thing I hate. By the end of the day, I found myself just staying quiet because I was afraid I’d say something that would make me fail my challenge. This has made me more aware and self-conscious about what I say.

I love this challenge because I’ve been wanting to change what comes out of my mind because I know my words reflect my thoughts. And I really want to have better thoughts because my thoughts reflect what is in my heart. And if negative things are being reflected, than that is not healthy. I’m looking forward to this challenge helping change my ways. I wonder how I’ll do.

Isn’t her honesty refreshing?

I’ve had some students and adults insist that this challenge is unhealthy, that complaining, criticizing, and even gossiping are normal behaviors and trying to suppress them will cause untold psychological damage. (Okay, so I’m up to $26 for a bit of hyperbole, yet again!)

The point of the Complaint-Free challenge, at least to me, is to do what the young lady quoted above is doing: become more aware, notice unhealthy habits, make purposeful changes.

I totally identify with what my student is saying, as I’m a Choleric, too. And it’s worth the money, the public accountability, and the over-stretched purple bracelet to work to eliminate — rather than become — what I hate.

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Romans 7:15