I’m a pretty positive person. I wake up every morning in a good mood. Sure there is “stuff” that hits me all day long that can try to steer me off course. Literally. Every day. That’s par for the course with all of us isn’t it? No one breezes through life without complications. Well no one I know. In any event, there isn’t much that can bring me down or take away my belief system.
My little one, on the other hand, wakes up cranky. It’s possible she doesn’t get enough sleep, since I can barely get her to bed before 10pm. Whatever the reason, she wakes up with what I call a “grump in her pants.” So I have to go find the grump. That involves a lot of tickling, and laughing and lo and behold, once I find that “grump” and throw it away, little Madeline becomes her funny, dynamic, self again.
So like I said, I’m a pretty positive person. I don’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Sure, I’m super anal compulsive about some things, like how clean my house is, but in general, I can go with the flow. It takes a lot to knock me down.
But here’s one thing that can irk me. People who, it would seem, are trying to drain the life out of me by sucking up my time. Even if it’s unintentional. And it usually is unintentional. And that is why I try not to let them bother me. But for some reason it does. And that grump could easily start to find a way into my pants if I allowed it to.
So here’s how my “grump” goes and tries to get negative on me!
You know who these people are. These are the people that can’t figure out how to do anything for themselves. These are the people that ask ten million questions on Facebook or text you non-stop because they are either too lazy or not capable of researching the answers themselves.
So I try backing up for a second and give these people a break, because sometimes I bet they are super busy too. And maybe a text or Facebook message is the fastest way for them to try to get the answer.
Here comes the “grump” again!
But don’t they get it? WE are busy too. When did it become our job to figure everything out for everyone else? When did it happen that we had to become the go to person for everyone?
These people can also be the kind of people that seem to make the same mistakes over and over again and YOU have to pick up the pieces. They pick that no-good person for them in a relationship and you become their counselor once again.
They enter something incorrectly online which costs them (or maybe even you) hundreds of dollars and now you have to spend your time (that you don’t have) on the phone trying to correct it for them. These are the people whose problems you have to fix over and over and over again.
I told you it’s called the “grump”! But I don’t have anyone to tickle it out of me most of the time.
I’ll give you an example. My daughter takes ballet lessons. I buy a package for her for the season. When this past season started, I asked the girl in the administrative office if she could take my old credit card, which they charge monthly out of the system and put a new card on file. Of course that didn’t happen. So month one, we correctly get charged on the new card, most likely because I’m sitting in her office when she places the charge. Month two, their system charges our old card which then re-activated a $95 annual fee.
So now I have to spend my time on the phone with the owner of the studio and with my credit card company trying to reverse an error that shouldn’t have ever happened. You feeling my pain yet? I know this kind of thing has happened to you too.
Was it intentional? Of course not. Was it a mistake? Of course! But this is the kind of stuff that makes me nuts and could causes that “grump” to appear.
So how do you guys handle all those little things that happen daily and can potentially suck your time away, or even, if up close and in person, suck the life out of you?
Me? I try the best I can to let it go. I take a deep breath. Or two. I say a positive mantra. I dismiss all negativity from my mind. I stifle the “grump.” I move on. I try understanding that the person causing the “grump” to appear may be having a real tough time in their life right now.
I try and place myself in their shoes and think that perhaps the person sending me all the questions is not being lazy, but perhaps they just don’t have the self-confidence to move forward alone.
Do I wish that all those little, annoying, time sucking moments wouldn’t happen? For sure. In fact, since I’m a pretty positive person, my life would be smooth sailing without those moments.
But here’s the deal. We all have them. And we can choose to let them annoy us and let them suck the life out of us. Or we can choose to push forward and not let them bother us. What kind of person do you want to be?
I’d rather stick to being the person who may not return that draining email, but who shows no evidence of “grump.” I’d rather be that person who continues to stay positive.
Life goes on whether we are grumpy or not. So we may as well be not, right?
@hayleyhobson (Click to Tweet!)
And if you find that “grump” appearing in your pants, find someone to tickle you. It really does work. 😉
XO,
Hayley
Hayley Hobson is an author, speaker, business coach, yogi, Pilates instructor, and holistic nutritional expert based in Boulder, CO. Her unique and intelligent style promotes strengthening while softening—empowering her clients to heal not only their physical bodies but their hearts and minds as well. To learn more about her nutritional courses, events, and custom programs, visit hayleyhobson.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
