“Be grateful for people’s complaints. Turn a complaint into a question.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unslpash by Analia Baggiano

We all complain from time to time. I’m sure you see a bunch of whining and complaining within your various communities. How often do you think or even say some expletive aloud, to silence all the negativity?

Effective coaches and communicators know the value of questions, especially open-ended questions that can have the power of an “off” switch of negativity and an “on” switch of possibility.

Consider the following questions, and perhaps make up a few of your own:

• How would you like things to be?
• What could you do to improve the situation?
• What ideas do you have to resolve this issue?
• Where could you look for solutions to this challenge?
• What alternative approaches can be taken to improve things?

EXERCISE:

How can you find more silver linings and gratitude in the complaints you currently experience?

How can the right question at the right moment be used to move your world forward today?