STOP complaining!

Jean Chatzky talks with Pastor Will Bowen

According to Pastor Will Bowen, you could be leading a happier, healthier life—if you just quit complaining! Jean talks with Pastor Bowen, author of A Complaint Free World, about his message of positive thinking and the benefits of a complaint-free attitude toward life.

Pastor Bowen says he saw the negative effect complaining was having on himself and the people in his community and decided to find a tangible tool to help solve the problem. So he distributed purple plastic bracelets to his parishioners at Christ Church in Kansas City, Missouri, and instructed wearers to simply move the bracelet from one wrist to the other every time they caught themselves being cranky, nagging, whiny, mean-spirited or critical.

Within 21 days—or the time psychologists say it takes to form a new habit—Pastor Bowen says he and others began to transform for the better. He says the bracelet helps wearers become more mindful of their negative thinking, and in turn replace complaints with more constructive thoughts and words. "You will notice that your life improves—you become a happier person," he says.

Pastor Bowen says the bracelets have impacted many people's lives. To date, he's shipped 3.6 million bracelets to people in 86 countries around the world. He says when people shift to a complaint-free attitude about life, their health, relationships and even financial situations often improve. "If you want to be prosperous, you need to focus on what you do want in your life as opposed to what you don't want," he says.

Related Resources

A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted by Will Bowen