Status Updates From No Complaining Rule by Gord...

1) Trust in a bigger plan

2) Find strength in adversity

3) Failure today leads to success tomorrow

4) The worst event in life is often a catalyst for the best

5) Positive or negative - the choice is yours

5 Things to Do Instead of Complaining:

1) Practice Gratitude - 2 thoughts can't occupy your mind at once so you can't be negative while counting blessings
2) Praise Others - focus on what others are doing right - 3x as much praise as criticism
3) Focus on Success - write down 1 great thing about your day each night
4) Let Go - focus only on things you can change
5) Pray & Meditate

The No Complaining Rule:

Employees are not allowed to mindlessly complain to their coworkers. If they have a problem or complaint about the job, their company, their customer, or anything else, they are encouraged to bring the issue to their manager or someone who is in a position to address the complaint. However, the employees must share 1 or 2 possible solutions to their complaint as well."

POSITIVE PRINCIPLES:
* Positive leadership required to build positive culture - it can trickle up & sideways, but it flows from the top down

* Root vs fruit - a lot of companies focus on fruit as signs of success - people deliver the positive numbers, so they should be the focus to get the numbers you want

* Truth must permeate the Org - "Can I trust you and do you care about me?"

No one goes through life untested - every great historical figure, sports hero, etc. had to overcome adversity and challenges to define themselves - overnight success is a myth

staying + is not about a fake smile or believing you have to do it all yourself - rather it's about being optimistic, living w/ hope, and having faith - how you respond to the challenges is what matters

When building a positive culture, you have to let some energy vampires off the bus b/c one person can break a team

However, no matter how many negative employees you let go, there will always be new ones to take their place so have to come up w/ a better way to attack negativity before it attacks you (being proactive vs reactive)

from Fundamentals of Prosperity by Roger Babson:

Prez of Argentina explains why S. America lags behind N. America in prosperity & progress - "I have come to this conclusion, S America was discovered by the Spaniards in search of gold but N America was settled by the Pilgrims in search of God."

What are we focusing on / pursuing?

2 Steps to Quit complaining:
1) a No Complaining Day (a fast)

2) when you do complain, use it to your advantage as a signal that we are on the negative road - every complaint has an opposite - use it as a catalyst to help determine / focus on what we DO want and DO like

We were born to complain - as babies, we cry to get what we want- complaining is adult crying --> just as we learned to stop sucking our thumbs or afraid of dark, we must outgrow the habit of complaining

"Don't complain. 80% of people you complain to don't care & 20% are glad you have problems." - Lou Holtz

Complaining creates a cycle of negativity that feeds on itself & grows

In life, you have a choice between 2 roads: the positive road (enhance happiness, health, & success) or the negative road (misery, anger, failure)

Your bus can only be on one road at a time! You must decide which road to be on

2 main reasons people complain:
1) They are fearful & helpless
2) it is a habit

Skin cancer stands out so you can more easily ID them and get them taken care of

Internal cancer is subtle & hidden - it grows & spreads to the point where, if not caught, will destroy the body

Doorman tells Hope story of Snoopy at Thanksgiving being down about being out in his house but realizes he could be the turkey!

It could always be worse

Cost of Negativity:
* US Economy lost productivity = $250-300B
* 90% of doctor visits are stress related -- #1 cause of stress is coworkers & their complaining - decreased lifespan, increased risk of stroke / heart attack, less energy, more pain, fewer friends
* More negative interactions vs postive interactions decrease productivity of a team

Hope went from someone who wanted to help everyone to someone who wanted to hide and wallow in self-pity. Needs to let go of the past, stop being disappointed about where you are, and start being optimistic about where you are going

What we need the most, we often resist the most

Where there is a void, negativity will fill it - voids in communication exist b/w leaders & employees, different teams, families, sports teams, etc.

negativity can breed & grow, like a cancer it can spread if left unaddressed

People don't just want to be seen & heard. They want to hear & see, and if they don't feel like they are part of the company, they will assume the worst and act accordingly

The company allowed logistics, sales, call center issues, customer complaints, stock price, shareholder meetings to be more urgent / take precedence over employee concerns - allowed negativity to spread and morale to get worse

Jews spent 400yrs @ captive slaves - once free, start complaining within a 1.5months (hunger, water, living in wilderness) - God got so tired of it, he threatened their existence!

"A man is about as happy as he chooses to be." - Abraham Lincoln