At one time or another, everyone has complained about something. Will Bowen, former minister and now a best-selling author and speaker, says there is a better way to live life, by giving up complaining and embracing happiness.

Bowen will deliver the keynote address at the 2023 Iowa Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting Dec. 5-6 at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines.

Bowen is the author of five bestselling books, including “A Complaint Free World,” which helped launch his crusade to make the world a more positive place, despite the challenges we all face throughout life.

He is also founder of the Complaint Free movement, which has reached more than 15 million people worldwide. 

Those who sign up for his program receive a purple bracelet. The goal is to go 21 days without complaining, which Bowen said is the amount of time it takes to break a habit. Each time a participant complains, they switch which wrist the bracelet is on and the 21-day count starts over. 

“[The goal is] to become more aware of your complaining and to complain less. Ideally, you will go 21 days in a row, and it becomes habitual for you. [The bracelet] engages the mind and body together,” Bowen said during a TED Talk in 2017.

“No one ever complained their way to health, happiness and success,” Bowen noted. “If you agree that the world is caught in a complaining epidemic, then the only way to stem the tide is, to paraphrase Gandhi, ‘become the cure you wish to see in the world.’”

In addition to speaking engagements across the globe and having his books translated into more than 35 languages, Bowen has been featured on Oprah, Forbes, “The Today Show” and more to address the psychology of complaints and the power of shifting toward more productive thoughts.

Bowen joins a long tradition of keynote speakers offering inspiration to Farm Bureau members during the annual meeting. 

The meeting also will provide members with crucial updates on farm policy and trends in agriculture. The voting delegate session will conduct Farm Bureau business, and awards will be presented to individuals and groups in recognition of outstanding achievements.