This morning, I gave the sofa some feedback. I told it, in no uncertain terms, what an idiot it was for bumping into me. It was personal. The sofa was out to get me...

...except it wasn't. I was the idiot.

Do you ever find yourself giving a good talking to inanimate objects? As humans, we tend to anthropomorphise 'stuff' and then assign malicious intent to it! Why do we do that? (Or am I the only one?)

My justification? I was tired. But I'm more tired of this stupid sub-routine in my mind. Time to change.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of working alongside four consultancies who shared the same learning model. The WLC model:

Win, Learn, Change.

The Win, Learn, Change model is used for gathering feedback and commitment to action at the close of an intervention. What was the win for you, what did you learn, what would you like to change? I'd like to share the Lex Revised Version:

Whinge, Learn, Change.

I don't know about you, but I meet a lot of people who Whinge!! Well, they say, "It takes one to know one!"

I can't remember a single time when I found a whinge helpful, can you? But a whinge can become our friend, when it becomes a catalyst for change. This morning, when I caught myself whinging about the evil sofa trying to kill me, I remember my positive intention to write this blog. So here's how Whinge, Learn, Change could work for you...

Whinge, Learn, Change.

Whenever you catch yourself whinging or even just having a murmur of discontent (let alone a Winter of it!) let it be a wake-up call for an opportunity to learn and change. The Whinge is the trigger to choose a better response. Heed its call. Then ask yourself:

"What can I Learn from this?"

Of course, I learned that the sofa wasn't evil, that I was being stupid, I wasn't getting enough sleep, and I needed a cup-of-tea to help the morning wake-up ritual. What's next?

"So what do I need to Change?"

Take responsibility for my own movement around the house and be more careful. Develop enhanced acuity. Laugh at myself when I'm feeling ratty. Get some sleep! Have a cup-of-tea first (isn't that what Stephen Covey means by "First Things First"?)

I hope I've brought a smile to your lips as you read this. We all whinge (trust me, you do too). Now you have a simple strategy for turning your whinge into an asset for change. And, if you've got deep enough rapport with your friends, you've got a great tool for transforming their thinking if they ever think your ear looks like a garbage container worthy as a receptacle for their interminable whinging!

Lex

A Moodscope member.