Can You Go 72 Hrs Without Complaining?

Stop Complaining and Change Your Life

I recently read about Will Bowen, a minister of a small church in the American Midwest, who, in 2006, challenged his congregation to 21 days of no complaining.  The idea was that if you want more abundance and prosperity, then you couldn’t get there by complaining about what you already had.  If you complained, you started back at day ONE! He took the challenge himself, and it took him 6 months to go 21 days straight without complaining! He states that the average person complains 15-20 times a day. His congregation also noted all kinds of benefits in their lives and their health.   

So I thought I would try a shorter version to see just how it worked.  I thought it couldn’t be that bad, after all, I’m a fairly positive person.  I decided to go 72 hours without a single complaint and recruited my husband to participate as well. 

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My 72-Hour Experiment

Let's just say that by the afternoon of the first day, I had already complained!  Right after the words came out of my mouth, the light bulb in my head went on, and I thought “Wow!  I didn’t even make it through a day!  Yikes!”  My husband didn’t do any better. So we both started back at hour 1 of the 72-hour experiment.

We realized that complaints were not always about someone, sometimes they are negative thoughts about how things are.  For example: “Ugh, it's raining again.” But rain is just rain, it’s just our emotions and perceptions that make it negative.  I could have just said “Oh, it's raining.  I better get my umbrella.” And then went on with my day, without complaints. 

We also had to sort out what was a complaint and what was stating a problem that needed fixing.  So instead of “why can’t anyone refill the toilet paper roll?”, It would be better to say “The toilet paper is low.  Would someone please refill it?”

The “AHA Moment”

As we continued our experiment, we found that most of the conversations we have with others were filled with complaints! Just pay attention to your discussions today, and you will see what I mean.  In fact, it was hard to have a conversation without getting caught up in the complaint.  It really took effort at the beginning of the experiment.  

Is this a typical conversation in your day?

“Hey, How are you?”

“Good but busy. I had a terrible sleep last night (complaint) You?”

“Well, it took me forever to get here. (complaint) There’s so much traffic and construction these days (complaint)”

“Yeah, it so irritating. Well, back to the daily grind. (complaint)”

As you can see, the conversation is filled with complaints!

The Results:

So how long did it take my husband and me to go 72 hours straight without complaining?  1 WEEK! That was certainly an eye-opener.  We found that it was very challenging to have a conversation once we were alert to complaints. Things we would regularly say while making friendly conversation were filled with complaints.  And it was challenging not to get caught up in and agree with the complaints others added to the discussion. 

We also noted that we felt better about each day when we didn’t complain.  It seemed that things weren’t so bad after all.  When problems arose, we could identify them and ask for solutions instead of harping on the issue.  We were laughing a lot more at ourselves as a complaint was about to spew out of our mouth and in mid-sentence we would realize it and try to change course.  Somehow we also had more energy that week.   Maybe there really is a lot of energy used up in those negative, gloomy conversations!

The December Challenge

This experiment had such an impact on us that we are going to repeat it again over the holidays with our family. It’s amazing how much lighter you feel when you change your conversation and your perception.

I challenge you to try the experiment for 72 hours as well.  What better time than the beginning of the holiday season? It will be well worth it!  And for more inspiration, check out Will Bowen’s website.  

3 Awesome Tips to Make Cooking at Home Easy

Your Nutrient Intake

Are you finding that despite meditating, yoga and trying to be physically active, that you really aren’t feeling as well as you could? Perhaps you need to take a closer look at your nutrient intake.  Notice I did not say “nutritional.”  That’s because we tend to focus on carbs, proteins, fats; which ones to eat and which ones to avoid.  But we forget that the foods we eat are also supposed to give us nutrients that help our bodies to function optimally and remove toxins that come from what we ingest or even from everyday metabolic functions of our body! 

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Micronutrients and Resiliency 

The food we have available to us from mother nature; whole, natural foods, are complete packages of mixed nutrients in the right amounts and the right mix to help  our complex bodies function. When we allow our bodies to absorb and use these nutrients, we stay healthy and resilient. 

By nutrients, I’m referring to the vitamins, the minerals and the phytonutrients in foods - a.k.a “micro-nutrients.”  These micronutrients help turn that carb, protein or fat into energy,  hormones, parts of cells and so on.  They even help eliminate toxins from our body! To make sure we are getting enough, we need to eat more of plant-based, whole-foods; not one filled with processed and packaged foods. 

The best way to ensure you are getting these nutrients is to make more meals at home.  I know what you are thinking: “How am I going to find the time to make meals from these whole, natural foods?  It’s so much work!” Well, this is your lucky day!  Below are my top 3 tips to get you eating a more colourful, plant-based, whole foods diet and cooking more at home. Enjoy!

My 3 Favourite Hacks for Amping Your Nutrient Intake!

1. Batch Cooking (grains, soups, stews, sauces, chilli, beans)  

If you are going to cook something, why not double the recipe and freeze half to eat on those days when your time is short?  Making a homemade vegetable soup? Make double and freeze half. Don't forget to label the dish using masking tape and permanent marker so you know what it is later.

When I cook up grains like quinoa or even dry beans and lentils, I do the same thing. Instead of just making a cup, cook the whole bag. When it’s cooled, put some in the fridge to add to salads throughout the week. Place the rest in 1 cup portions in ziplock bags in the freezer. Whenever your recipe calls for it, just pull it out, thaw and voila!  Grains, beans and lentils last for about 4-5 days in the fridge, (don’t refrigerate reheated portions), and in the freezer for about 3 months. 


Quinoa is an excellent grain to do this with. You can use it in many ways: baking,  adding more protein to salads, making a side dish for dinner, adding to stews and hot meals made with ground meat to add more substance and reduce the amount of ground meat used.

2. Stock Your Pantry and Freezer With Essentials.

Then you can whip up a meal in no time:  Here are my favourites:

With these ingredients, you can whip up vegetarian bean chilli in no time at all. Or how about lemon and herb roasted salmon with roasted broccoli, lemon-dijon vinaigrette and a side of quinoa? It can be ready in 30 minutes!

3. Batch Preparing

  Much like batch cooking above, this is where you take some of the preparation steps, one step further to cut down on time later.  For example, let's say you need to chop some onions for a recipe, why not chop a whole bunch of onions and then freeze the extra chopped onions in ziplock bags for later use?  You can do the same with garlic, ginger.

This is also great for baking as you can combine the dry ingredients in a package to pull out later.  To do this, have 4 large ziplock bags open when you are about to bake muffins or a loaf or any other snack. Then, as you measure out the dry ingredients for your recipe, also measure out the same dry ingredient amount into each of the ziplock bags.  So, for example, 1 cup of oats into your mixing bowl and then 1 cup of oats into each of the ziplock bags and so on. 

When you are done, you will have the mixing blow with the dry ingredients of what you are about to bake and 4 other ziplock bags with the same dry ingredients.  Label the bags and the next time you want to bake, just pull one out and add in the wet ingredients! Time saved!

BONUS:
The Salad Bar Hack:

  Do you ever just run out of time to getting lunches ready for the week? This was something I ran into all the time so I came up with this hack to make sure I still eat healthy at work. Next time you go to the local grocery store visit the salad bar and pick up some mixed bean salad or a roasted vegetable salad as well as some chopped kale salad. Kale is a hardy, leafy green that won’t get soggy when you mix it with dressing and will keep longer. When you get home, mix the salads together, add some fresh lemon on top and voila! A hardy and tasty salad lunch that you can have for at least the next 3 days! 

Need some salad inspiration?

Check this out for the perfect salad

Or how about a new way to serve up salmon

My Nutritional Training:

Harvard Medical School “Foods That Heal”, Arizona Centre of Integrative Medicine - Cardiovascular Health and Nutrition (6hr course), Functional Medicine - Cleveland Clinic (5-day course), CHEF (Culinary Health Education Fundamentals) coaching- Harvard Medical School & Institute of Lifestyle Medicine (15 hr course)

STOP Stress in its Tracks!

The One-Minute Strategy to Help You Conquer Stress

Have you ever had  a day where it feels like life is just coming at you faster than you can manage? A day where you are frazzled and juggling too many things at one time? 

Take for example this scenario: It's the end of a long day, you’re running late for making dinner, the kids are fighting in the other room and the pot just boiled over. You are overwhelmed! So what can you do? This, my friend, is the best time to S.T.O.P!  Here is how to use this magical acronym:

S: Stop what you’re doing. You really cannot find new, effective solutions in the same mindset of stress and overwhelm. It would be like taking a subway going south, then realizing you need to go in the opposite direction and trying to jump off a moving train! First, you have to stop and get off the subway before you get too far off track.  Then, you can take a moment to figure out where you really want to go. 

In the scenario above, you would turn the stove down, stop cooking and let the kids be for now.  Find a quiet room if you need to.Then, while taking a moment to yourself:

T: Take a breath.  Breathing is key to switching your nervous system over to a more relaxed state giving you, among the many benefits, access to your higher brain centre, which is not available during stress. This allows you to be more creative and problem-solve better. 

So go ahead and place your hands on your lower abdomen. Inhale deeply and slowly through your nose, allowing your abdomen to rise. Then, exhale slowly and completely, through your mouth letting your abdomen fall gently towards your spine. Do this for 4-5 breaths. As you continue breathe deeply and slowly:

O: Observe what is happening in your body, mind, and environment.  Keep breathing and just notice what’s going on. How does your body feel? What emotions you are feeling? What thoughts are running through your head? And what is going on in your environment? Observe these things without judgement and without getting caught up in the story.  JUST OBSERVE. And remember to keep that long, deep breathing going!  By now you will be feeling calmer and have a better understanding of the situation. You are thinking more clearly and may even have a creative idea pop into your head.

In the scenario above, you might sense tension in parts of your body and your heart racing. Emotionally, you might feel overwhelmed, angry and frustrated. You may be thinking: “Why can’t the kids just behave!”  “If only I didn’t have to deal with that issue at work that made me late.”  “Why can’t dinner be easier?” You notice that the kids are yelling, the pot has boiled over and dinner is 30 minutes late. You may even realize that the kids are acting out because they’re hungry! Aha! And that leads to the next step:

P: Proceed.  This is where you DECIDE how you want the rest of the day to go and CHOOSE how you want to proceed.  You are in complete control of what happens next! This is where that higher brain centre kicks in allowing you to think more clearly and, with your ultimate goal in mind, also come up with many options. The possibilities are unlimited. Truly!  

For example, in the scenario above, you decide you would like to have a more relaxed and fun evening with their family.  So, now, you have a few choices about how to proceed: you could keep doing what they’re doing, you could keep cooking dinner but invite the kids over for a snack while listening to some music, or you could scratch dinner and order pizza. Because, after all, the idea is to have a fun, relaxed evening! The possibilities are endless.

So experiment this week.  Write STOP on stickies and place them in your office or on your fridge, as a reminder.

Once you have the idea, the technique takes about a minute to complete.The more you practice this technique, the more you start making choices from a place of calm instead of chaos. And that‘s where the magic begins.

Go ahead and share this post with a friend!