--- title: How Complaining Hurts Your Career (and Happiness) description: Leadership coach Rick Tamlyn on getting out of the toxic habits that impede our ability to be creative canonical: https://time.com/3991178/complainers-work-rick-tamlyn-career-coach/ author: Julia Lull article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-12T22:55:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:26.272Z og:title: How Complaining at Work Wrecks Your Career og:description: Leadership Coach Rick Tamlyn on how easy it is to be negative -- and how toxic og:url: https://time.com/3991178/complainers-work-rick-tamlyn-career-coach/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d30ccefa08e7366/69885f238e0601c809461db9/rick-tamlyn-life-coach.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Rick Tamlyn - Life Coach og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Complaining at Work Wrecks Your Career twitter:description: Leadership Coach Rick Tamlyn on how easy it is to be negative -- and how toxic twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d30ccefa08e7366/69885f238e0601c809461db9/rick-tamlyn-life-coach.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Revive Your Creative Side at Work by [Julia Lull](https://time.com/author/julia-lull/) and [Arpita Aneja](https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/) Aug 12, 2015 10:55 PM UTC  Rick Tamlyn, who advises clients on all fields of life, coaches one of his clients over the phone about their lifes choices. Rick Tamlyn, who advises clients on all fields of life, coaches one of his clients over the phone about their lifes choices.Kirk McKoy—LA Times/Getty Images by [Julia Lull](https://time.com/author/julia-lull/) and [Arpita Aneja](https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/) Aug 12, 2015 10:55 PM UTC It’s easy to get into the habit of complaining at work. In fact it can be a way of bonding with your colleagues. Those sidechat grousing sessions can feel so satisfying in the short term. But as leadership coach Rick Tamlyn explains, complaining has a toxic effect on our ability to progress and find our best creative selves. Of course, you may not think you’re a complainer, but as Tamlyn suggests, try tracking how many negative thoughts and words you express every day, versus the positive moments. The tally may surprise you. Changing that dynamic is hard, but key, says Tamlyn who believes changing the way we talk about our lives can be one of the most essential ways to move toward the career and life we want. _Tamlyn is a leadership coach, motivational speaker and advisor to Fortune 100 companies, small businesses, nonprofits, and churches. His goal is helping people get unstuck so that they can tap into their own creativity. He has built a global audience, speaking and conducting workshops in more than 17 countries for individuals and companies such as IBM, The Coaches Training Institute, Glaxo-SmithKline, Schneider Electric, among others._ _He is the_ _author of_ [_Play Your Bigger Game_](http://www.amazon.com/Play-Your-Bigger-Game-Lifetime/dp/1401942946) _(2013), and a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) as well as a Master Certified Coach (MCC) as designated by the International Coach Federation (ICF), and a senior trainer for The Coaches Training Institute, a coach training and leadership development organization._ ### You Asked: Your Top 10 Health Questions Answered  You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy? Potions that claim to clear your body of toxins might sound alluring, but do they deliver? Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Eating Dessert Really That Bad For Me? Bad news for sweet-eaters—except if you end your meals with this kind of treat. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth? Yes, teeth whitening actually works—but here's why you have to dish out major bucks to see results. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Meditation Really Worth It? From easing stress to lowering heart disease risk, focusing your mind can do some amazing things for your body. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Healthiest Sweetener? Take a taste of the unsettled science of sweeteners. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Should I Go Paleo? The pros and cons of eating like a caveman. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Cracking Your Knuckles Bad? Here's what really happens to your joints when you snap, crackle and pop. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Running on a Treadmill as Good as Running Outside? You'll fool your body into thinking it's outside with this one small treadmill tweak. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Does Laughing Have Real Health Benefits? Here's proof that everybody could use a belly laugh. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What Is My Poo Telling Me? If you listen hard enough, you'll hear all kinds of health stories from #2. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME _Read next:_ [_This Is the No. 1 Predictor of Career Success, According to Science_](http://time.com/4006770/career-success-networking/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day_](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3991178/complainers-work-rick-tamlyn-career-coach/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3991178/complainers-work-rick-tamlyn-career-coach/"},"headline":"How to Revive Your Creative Side at Work","datePublished":"2015-08-12T22:55:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:26.272Z","description":"Leadership coach Rick Tamlyn on getting out of the toxic habits that impede our ability to be creative","url":"https://time.com/3991178/complainers-work-rick-tamlyn-career-coach/","keywords":["Living","Careers & Workplace","Creativity","career"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d30ccefa08e7366/69885f238e0601c809461db9/rick-tamlyn-life-coach.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Lull","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-lull/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Arpita Aneja","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d30ccefa08e7366/69885f238e0601c809461db9/rick-tamlyn-life-coach.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rick Tamlyn - Life Coach","caption":"Rick Tamlyn - Life Coach","creditText":"Kirk McKoy—LA Times/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3991178/complainers-work-rick-tamlyn-career-coach/","name":"How to Revive Your Creative Side at Work"}}]}] ```