It’s Official Grumpiness is Good for You
Grumpy prompts from an old curmudgeon….
What a relief. I can be grumpy, and it can be good for me. It says so in a 2016 BBC article Why it pays to be grumpy and bad tempered. According to the article, you can earn more, be healthier and have a happier marriage. No wonder John and I were married for 39 years. The article lists people like Hugh Grant, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates as well known for grumpiness. All are highly successful in their field. Ok, hands up, I failed in those stakes. There are even articles on how to manage your grumpiness well. For example - How to Be Grumpy by Nick Wignall. I am not convinced by these articles.
I am very sorry, rabbits 🐇 but I must enter your warren briefly. I won’t be long. I need to grab a couple of more rigorous and recent academic articles. I have found one from Lancaster University Struggling with positive thinking? Research shows grumpy moods can actually be useful. One of the arguments is that the positive psychology of seizing the day can adversely affect us because we avoid learning from past mistakes and not planning for the future. Professor Eyal Winter, who wrote the article, refers to RAW emotions—regret, anger and worry. The Professor argues humans are hard-wired to use those emotions to a) learn from the past - anger and regret & b) plan for the future - worry. All looks pretty logical to me. He mentions optimism bias, which can lead to poor decisions or actions due to overconfidence.
I've also discovered it is a subject that raises its head above the parapet regularly. I suppose in the wise words of an old curmudgeon. It is ok to be grumpy sometimes, but probably not always on the flip side of the coin. Positive thinking needs to be occasionally interspersed with a bit of grumpiness. Always looking on the bright side can sometimes result in poor decision making.
It helps you to learn from the anger you 3felt. You need to understand why you are worried about something. It would help if you did not do what my 3-year-old self used to say, “forget about it,”. Then, I would yet again attempt to drown myself because I had forgotten large expanses of water were dangerous. In my defence, the last time I did put my arm bands on. I just forgot to blow them up. My poor brother was not amused. He came out of the changing rooms to see me in the middle of his school swimming pool. I was 6 years old and could not swim. The shallow end was 6ft deep. I was happily doggy paddling in the middle and have not looked back since.
Journaling Prompts - you can write on a piece of paper, on your phone, iPad, computer, a beer mat or anything else close to hand.
I feel grumpy when …………
My last grumpy day was because ………
The grumpiest person I know is ………
Being angry or worried has taught me ………
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Love this!
I had a really icky day on Saturday and my bestest, most grumpy swearwords emerged!
Here's to the occasional grumps. None of us is a perpetual rainbow!
I’m always chiding myself for worrying, so it’s a relief to learn that perhaps there’s some point to my worry after all.