Could a world free of complaints ever exist? Just imagine… Welcome, lighthearted viewers, to another edition of Good People, Good Works. Today we profile “A Complaint Free World,” a US-based non-profit organization with the mission to encourage all of us to end the habit of complaining as it results in a far healthier and happier life.

A Complaint Free World was founded by Will Bowen, Lead Minister of One Community Spiritual Center in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. The story of A Complaint Free World has been featured on hundreds of US radio and television programs as well as in newspapers across the world. The reverend has written two books – “A Complaint Free World” and “Complaint Free Relationships: How to Positively Transform Your Personal, Work, and Love Relationships.”

In December 2009, he launched his film “A Complaint Free Revolution” which features inspiring stories of people from across the USA and Canada who have transformed their lives, relationships and businesses by simply ending their habit of complaining.

One of the most common questions I am asked is, “What is a complaint?” The dictionary defines “complain” as “to express grief, pain or discontent.” Now we’re expressing our complaints, we speak them aloud and you would think that we would be aware of them. The thing is that most people complain, 15 to 30 times a day and have absolutely no awareness that they are doing it.

The complaints are coming out of their mouths; you would think that they would hear them, but they don’t. I like to say complaining is like bad breath, you notice it when it comes out of somebody else’s mouth, but not so much when it comes out of your own.

What inspired Reverend Will Bowen to help others become complaint free?

Three years ago, I was doing a series on prosperity. I find that people focus too much on what is wrong in their lives as opposed to what is working in their lives. And they say they want to be prosperous, but they’re so busy complaining that they’re not going to manifest anything of value. So, I gave out these purple bracelets one Sunday, and invited everybody that every time they caught themselves complaining, they’d take the bracelet off one wrist and put it on the other wrist.

And they go back and forth until they go 21 consecutive days, and we have now sent out over six million bracelets to 106 countries around the world. Our goal is to get 60 million people around the world to wear these bracelets and go 21 days without complaining. If we can transform the consciousness of 60 million people, that’s just one percent of the world, we can transform the consciousness of the world.

A Complaint Free World decided that their sixth millionth bracelet should be given to Dr. Maya Angelou, a prominent African-American poet and author, in honor of her inspirational words that truly represent the vision of the organization.

From the very beginning, we used a quote of her’s that we thought symbolized what we were trying to say. Becoming complaint-free is not about shutting up and sucking up whatever the world sends you; it’s about healthy communication. If you’ve got an issue, you speak directly and only to the person who can effect the change. And Dr. Angelou says, “You don’t like something? Change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

A Complaint Free World seeks a constructive shift in our world’s consciousness, where people will “focus on and speak about what they desire things to be rather than complaining about how things are.”

How do I think the world would be if one percent of the world’s population was complaint free? Einstein said no genius has ever used more than 18% of the brain. But today’s geophysicists say no genius has ever used more than 10% of the brain. The majority of us mumble and get around with five, six, or seven percent.

If we’ve been able to stay alive at all, alive and future thinking, alive and having enough courage to care for each other, enough courage to love, and know that we’re probably one percent free, imagine who would we be? What would happen? I tell you one thing, I think war would be laughed out of the room. I think the very word, if somebody said “war,” another person would say “You mean am I supposed to kill somebody because he doesn’t agree with me? Ha! I don’t think so.”

If 60 million people were to become complaint free, which would be one percent of the world’s population, I believe that people would be so much happier. When people put positive energy out and fill other people’s buckets, it makes them feel good and makes other people feel good and I believe that putting positive energy into the world, into the Universe, it makes that positive energy come back to you.

We will pause now and when we return, we will find out more about Reverend Will Bowen’s A Complaint Free World. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

I think that the world would be really a nicer place and it would be really good, in that it would almost be perfect.

We sit down before every dinner, and we sit there and we go through it, of what we’re joyful for, for that day, and we go back and forth that I’m thankful for this, I’m thankful for this experience, I’m thankful for that experience, and we’re always focusing on the positive. And it gets to be a habit, and we don’t have the criticism and the negative, and that’s where it all started with the bracelet.

Welcome back to Good People, Good Works, where we are learning about a unique organization called A Complaint Free World, a US-based non-profit organization started by Reverend Will Bowen to uplift humanity through constructive speaking. Reverend Bowen first started the movement in July 2006 with 250 members of his church working to end their habit of complaining.

So we know complaining is damaging to every area of our lives; then how do we become complaint free? Well there’s a simple and easy tool to doing it and it’s this bracelet right here. Now this bracelet, the Complaint Free Purple Bracelet is not a bracelet that you wear and it just shows the world that you support A Complaint Free World, this isn’t what this is about.

The idea is every time you catch yourself complaining you take it off one wrist and you switch it to the other wrist. And you switch it back and forth, back and forth with every complaint.

Over 60 million bracelets have been sent to 106 different countries thus far. How has wearing the Complaint Free bracelet helped program participants?

Having the complaint free bracelet on my wrist, it’s made me more aware of how much I do complain and it’s helped me cut back, and I didn’t realize how much I was complaining beforehand.

The most challenging was to accept when I’d made a remark or something that should be classified as a complaint enough to move this back from the right wrist to the left wrist, to the left wrist, to the right wrist. And to be honest with myself and not say, “No that wasn’t something I have to do that for,” because I think it’s real good to be honest with yourself about this, that’s the whole idea.

A key component of the program is to not complain for a full 21 days. Reverend Bowen now explains why this time period is so important.

The idea is to go 21 consecutive days without complaining, and therefore 21 days without moving the bracelet. Now what’s going to happen is the first several days you will move it back and forth so many times, people think you have a nervous disorder, you just keep switching it back and forth, and back and forth. But in time you’ll get to where you’ll go a few hours or maybe even an entire day. And then ultimately you go 21 consecutive days.

Now why 21 consecutive days? People believe it takes 21 days to form a new habit and what we want to do is make being complaint free habitual for you.

Is it challenging to reach the 21st day? Reverend Bowen offers his thoughts.

Oh, it’s quite difficult. And most people get into it thinking that it’s going to be easy, then they discover how challenging it can be. It takes anywhere from four to eight months I’ve found, to go 21 consecutive days. And people get at it for awhile, and then they’re embarrassed. “Oh my gosh! I’ve been at it for three months, and I’m still on day one!”

But that’s typically the way it works. It’ll take you several months to go one full day, but then it may take you a week to go two days, and then you’re back on day one, and then you make it three days.

No one is perfect, no one is going to go through the next month without stumbling or the next two months without stumbling. We all stumble, the question is how quickly do we lift ourselves back up and put ourselves back into a place where we are no longer gossiping, we are no longer complaining. Where we’re using our words in an appropriate manner. Our world emanates from who we are, so when we change, our lives change.

I myself have control over my own life, and knowing the power of your words and the things that you do with your life, gives you a sense of control, and you can lead your life. It just gave me a sense of gratitude.

Some participants of the A Complaint Free World program are so enthusiastic about it they want to become acquainted with other like-minded people. Reverend Bowen has devised a creative way to get all those interested together in one place.

We have found that people from all over who have taken this on want to meet other people, so we did A Complaint Free cruise to the Caribbean last year; it was very successful. So this year we’re doing A Complaint Free cruise to Alaska (USA). We’re going to do a week cruise up to Alaska, and I’m going to be speaking and doing workshops while at sea, but otherwise this is just going to be a wonderful cruise, and we’re really looking forward to it.

We salute Reverend Will Bowen for his wonderful initiative that is helping keep people on a constructive path in life. May many more learn of this splendid program and experience the wonderful benefits.

For more details on A Complaint Free World, please visit www.AComplaintFreeWorld.org
Books and other media by Reverend Bowen are available at www.ComplaintFreeWorld.biz

Joyful viewers, we have enjoyed your company on today’s edition of Good People, Good Works. Join us next Sunday for Part 2 of our program on A Complaint Free World. Coming up next is The World Around Us, after Noteworthy News. May Heaven light up your path with fountains of love, beauty, and wisdom.

If we were to take a bird’s eye view of Earth, what would we see? This is the premise behind famed French photographer Yann Arthus – Bertrand’s landmark eco-documentary “Home” which depicts the immense devastation humanity has caused to our only planet.

We haven't understood that we're depleting what nature provides. We are destroying the cycle of a life that was given to us. We have forgotten that resources are scarce.

Please watch Part 2 of the important film “Home” Wednesday, March 24, on Planet Earth: Our Loving Home.