- Complaining isn’t good for you. Complaining distracts from problem solving, wastes time and energy, and it leaves you and the important people in your life feeling crummy.
- Personal responsibility. Taking personal responsibility — a big piece of being a Challenger — has at its center making a commitment to stop complaining. In order to stop complaining in a way that is healthy as opposed to making us even more the victim requires that we find effective, powerful ways to meet our needs.
- Forming powerful requests. Forming powerful requests instead of complaining is key. Powerful requests are those that are specific and actionable. By forming powerful requests, you become a solver, taking control of your outcomes and your life. This also boosts your credibility and signals that you are a powerful player, a true Challenger. And, it enhances your ability to collaborate with others to get more accomplished. When you don’t do this, you might be contributing to the problems around you and to your own unhappiness.
- Do your homework before looking outside yourself. Approaching problems with clarity about what you want and need is the first step towards forming powerful requests and, through the skillful use of such requests, achieving effective solutions and delivering success. It is critical to use that clarity to identify where you might be the one best able to fulfill the request you need to make.