I recently watched this clip about #nowhiningwednesday where she made it into a challenge for herself (at first) and put into a jar a quarter every time she would whine, complain, or criticise. The results was so surprising cause she almost filled up half of the jar!

This got me excited!

As a mom with 2 virtually schooling kiddos, we don’t give money to our girls so just so it would be more fun for them, I put it into writing and made like a scoreboard. haha. These girls are truly competitive that they put so much effort to think before they act or talk. I tell you, our morning has been much much better that I’m so eager to buy some ice cream for snack later as a reward for ourselves.

On contrary, it’s not only the girls who’ve been showing some effort. I myself got some big realisations on how much I do whine as well. Well, not that vocal and showy like kiddos do when they have their tantrums of course, but with my thoughts?!!? oh gosh! Those silent, ugh!, huh!, and the list goes on.If you’re a parent, you know what I’m talking about.🤪

Have you tried this challenge already? I urge you to do so. If you’re an adult who just wants to do this alone, why not try doing it with the jar with loose coins! Not only would it help you realise how much whining/complaining you’ve been doing but you’ll also learn to be more mindful in the days to come. What’s more great about this is having that jar full of coins which you could either share(donate), save(for rainy days), or spend! Why not celebrate with some ice cream like us!

Here’s are more reasons why you should do this with your kids:

1. You’ll learn to step back and try to look at the bigger picture before you act next time. This will help practice you to catch yourself on whining about things. You’ll get to be more mindful of your actions and find yourself doing the better option on doing things instead of simply whining about whatever that is.
2. You’ll learn to look from within. Assess if there’s really an issue or something you need to address or its just a simple matter that just is a waste of time for you to think and whine about.
3. You don’t need to be serious about this challenge. Nobody wants to do something that isn’t enjoyable. The key here is to be consistent on catching yourself from whining and hopefully in the process help you to lessen it. Not into collecting coins? How about the scoreboard like the girls and I are doing?
4. As I’ve told you, this isn’t for you to feel being restrained from your but to make small changes daily. Knowing this, whining and complaining can’t really be instantly gone from your life. Knowing the right channel to do it while the habit is still within you is a great start. General rule, if it’s a private matter, don’t post it on social media.
5. Finding the positive in every circumstance can be a great help in making this challenge a manageable one. There’s always a good part on everything despite not us always seeing it. That’s the catch! You need to find and see it!
6. And last but not the least, practice gratitude. This is very very important. The more we realise how blessed and we are, the more we’ll find this challenge to be easier. Simply look around you and see how you’ve been praying for all those things to be in your life days/weeks/years ago yet, and here you are now! Why not enjoy it!

I hope you get to try this challenge and share your experience with me here in the comments or in my Instagram account @themommywithagoal where I share more positivity and Self-Care daily.

Know that you are enough, blessed, uniquely-made, and a great mom is important. Whining is simply a habit that we’ve all grown accustom to doing, that’s why we do it. Learn how to lessen self-doubt and increase confidence.