No B.S Friday: If you don’t let yourself get grumpy, you’re missing out
“Screw this, I’m going to Bunnings,” I said, throwing down the hose in disgust.
I was in a filthy mood. I don’t know why. Maybe there was something in the stars. Maybe there was Mercury in my Gatorade.
As I’ve gotten older I realise my moods have seasons. Underneath the highs and lows of any given day are longer cycles of activated and grumpy.
I used to think that was a problem. I used to think that if I wasn’t jumping out of bed each morning and fist-pumping the sky there was something wrong with me. There was a problem that needed to be fixed.
Now I just realise that my moods cycle. Some days I’m more pumped than grumpy. Some days I’m less hero and more humpty-dumpty. And that’s ok. Each season has its gifts.
There’s no value in fighting it.
So yeah, there I was watering the garden. This is a task that looks like it should be easy. You are literally just standing there with a hose. There’s pretty minimal effort required.
But I’ve always struggled with it. I find it hard to find the patience. As an activity its not active enough to be engaging, but also not passive enough to be able to do some good productive thinking.
And at the end of the day, I do find it hard to care whether the plants are properly hydrated or not. I still do my bit, but it feels like a chore.
But on this day, my mood was filthy enough that I decided to do something about it. I went to Bunnings and got an automatic watering system.
And this is the gift of a filthy mood – you have very little patience for the things in your life that aren’t really working for you.
When my mood is up, I can tolerate watering the garden. It’s ok. I’m feeling good. I’ll amuse myself.
But when it’s down, I become very interested in anything that can save me from the things that are hassling me.
And these days, I try to work with it consciously.
When I’m up, it’s a good time to dream and vision. It’s a good time to plan, and connect with people.
And when I’m down, it’s a good time to take a critical eye to my processes. What’s not working? What could be working better? Can I palm this task off to somebody else, or an app, or a sprinkler system?
But what I realise is that if I just fight myself on my mood – force myself to be up, and force myself to dream big dreams and try to talk to people, I just don’t do anything of those things that well.
What’s more, I miss an opportunity to bring the eye of a grumpy old bastard to my processes and whip them into shape.
And there’s actually a lot of value in that.
So don’t fight the seasons. Learn to work with them.
Each one has its gifts.
JG.