Sit with it.

This morning I woke up grouchy. There was nothing to cause this feeling, it just was. My kids noticed and asked me if I was stressed out.

I began doing things in an attempt to improve my mood. I watched church on TV. I played with our puppy, Daiya. I took a walk with Daiya. I pulled weeds. I played Uber driver for my son’s Nerf game. I filled up my daughter’s bike tire. I ate lunch.

And guess what? I felt the same. Blech.

When things don’t feel quite right I default to making choices and taking action. But sometimes — just maybe — the decisions and actions don’t help. Maybe it’s best to have the courage to be grouchy and sit (figuratively speaking) with it. So, I’m trying that.

I talk about staying in the mess from a strategy perspective in an earlier blog, Bless this mess. That blog is about business, though, and today’s feeling isn’t about business. It is personal and here I’m even more driven to get out of the mess. But I’ve decided to sit with it. I am staying with the feeling instead of worrying about it and trying to will it away. And it seems to be going just fine.

I’m sitting with my grumpiness and writing a few blogs. Perhaps I’ll note that the author is Dawn the Grouch? I’m not interested in keeping the Grouch name forever, but it is what it is. And I’m sure the feeling will come back and maybe we’ll hang out for a while again. That’s cool. I’ll sit with it.

I have a hunch that this feeling will tire and I can lose my new name. But for now, Dawn the Grouch is signing off.

Humph.