I'd like to talk to you today about what your grumpiness might be trying to tell you. If you ever have one of those days where you just feel like Grumpy Cat or Oscar the Grouch, then this week’s vlog is for you.
I think a lot of us have either seen Oscar the Grouch or the Grumpy Cat memes, and every once in a while we wake up and we just have one of those days where we feel like we are living inside that meme, right? This week’s video talks about what your grumpiness might be trying to tell you and what you can do about it.
Important Warning Signs Not to Ignore
Oftentimes we get caught up in the cultural norm of tiredness and just assume it’s okay and that’s why we’re feeling grumpy inside. But it might be more than that. Here are some warning signs not to ignore:
You wake up in the morning roll over and I groan and say, "Snooze!" repeatedly. Because you just want the alarm clock to stop for another 9 minutes.
When you look through your daily calendar or your week and you just feel like, "I don't want to do any of those things".
When you feel like pushing things or people away.
When you continually feel grumpy around loved ones or pets.
If you’re getting snappy at those you love and live with, or at colleagues.
Or maybe you’re in a meeting or you get an email from somebody and you just want to immediately respond with [insert inappropriate swear words here] - even if you actually don’t do it.
If these things are happening to you regularly….STOP. Notice the Grumpy Cat. Right there. There it is. Those might be some of the warning signs that your grumpiness is trying to say something to you, that it's not just a passing thing. Especially if it happens more than a couple of days.
What Your Grumpiness Is Trying to Tell You
So what is it that your grumpiness might be trying to tell you? It’s trying to tell you that your life is out of balance in some way. I know for a lot of people it might be you're not getting enough sleep. Maybe you're hungry. It might be a temporary quick fix kind of a thing.
Your Life Is Out of Balance
But a lot of times, it's that your life is out of balance in a more significant way. That you've lost touch with who you are and what is important to you, and you find that you are scrambling around and doing a bunch of things in your day or in your week that don't feel like they're what you really want to be doing. Whether that is going to a job that you don't like, or doing a whole bunch of tasks that you don't like. Maybe it's that you're not getting enough of something that you need. Whether it is me time or exercise time, little bit of time for mindfulness or some yoga, some kind of rest and recharge time.
Whatever it is, usually when you're grumpy, your body's trying to tell you that you're out of balance in some way, shape, or form. And it will do that subtly at first, and then it gets louder and louder and louder, just like a toddler that if you ignore them, they scream a little bit louder. Your system will do the same thing. So it might be this low grade grumpiness at first. Nobody else really notices, but on the inside you just feel kind of like ugh. And you just wanna snap at everybody.
The Problem Will Only Grow If You Don’t Do Something NOW
If you don’t do something about it soon, eventually that will escalate to you outwardly showing signs of grumpiness or snappiness. It might be through nonverbal signs at first. People notice that you've got that Grumpy Cat face on. Or eventually it will escalate to you snapping. Maybe at your loved ones or your pets, maybe at a coworker. Maybe you send one of those nasty-gram emails in response to something because you just have to get it out. And then later you're like, "Shoot, I didn't mean to send that," or "I didn't mean to come off in that way."
Those are some of the warning signs that your life is out of balance and that's what your grumpiness is trying to tell you.
What To Do When Your Life Is Out of Balance
So, if that sounds like you and you're wondering, "Okay, what can I do about that?" Check out the link below to my upcoming stress management group, because we learn a lot of skills in that group for creating balance in your life so that you don't have the appearance of Oscar the Grouch or Grumpy Cat come up quite so often.
Learn to Manage Competing Demands on Your Time
We talk about how to manage all of the competing demands on your time so that you still feel like you have enough left for you. Whether it's to go to yoga or to go for a run and exercise in the morning, or take a little bit of me time away from work or the kids or whatever it is. I teach a lot of skills for how to manage all of those competing demands on your time.
Reconnect With Yourself and What’s Important to You
We also do a lot of mindfulness and nature-connection practices. What that does is it helps you get back in touch with yourself when you feel like you've been disconnected. It’s a really wonderful thing that happens. We can reconnect with ourselves by reconnecting with Mother Nature and spending time out on the land.
Take a Retreat Day
Part of the stress management group is that we do a half day retreat so that you have that “me time”. You have that time to reconnect with yourself and check in and see what it is you really need and what you want to be doing with your life, rather than just passively getting swept around by the tides. Whether it's at work or kids' schedules or whatever it is. And really checking back in and going, "Okay, what do I want for me, and how do I get that?"
Be Mindful and Reduce Your Stress
Past participants have reported feeling noticeably calmer, even after hectic days, as well as being more mindful and getting their lives back on track. Check out the stress management group page below to see how you might also benefit from learning how to be more mindful and reduce your stress. The next section starts on April 1st!
If you want to learn more about stress in general and how to manage it, check out the Stress Management Counseling page or schedule a free consult call today.
