Who is Grumblings and why say goodbye?

Focusing on the good is healthy — this I believe absolutely. We should all do this, while of course remaining practical.

When I was a child, my stepfather turned my frequent grumbling into an adventure story in which I defeated Grumblings the dragon and became queen of a magical land. Some 35 years later, it’s time to live up to the story and say goodbye to my still-too-frequent grumblings.

Good can be found almost everywhere if we look for it.

When not grumbling, I am blessed to see the bright side, and I want to share that with others. I originally planned to do this simply by collecting good news in support of my view that there’s more good out there than people realize. Then I realized there was dissonance between this goal of wanting to share the bright side of life and my own behaviour.  Finding the good in the world also means shaking off the grumbling to uncover the good in myself. To do this,  I need to go deeper, get personal.

Colleagues and friends see my best behaviour. At home, with those I love most, I am more relaxed and safe — and often my worst self. A grumbly self, a cranky self. A dragonish self. Why am I at my best when I’m with colleagues, acquaintances and friends? It’s contrary to be nicer to people I care less about, I know. I also know from observation that I am not alone in this. Saying goodbye to Grumblings the dragon means learning how to be my best self, even with — especially with — the people I care most about.

How to go about this? How to focus on the good in my close relationships and say goodbye to Grumblings?

It starts with me. My dragon, my grumblings. I have to let go of trying to fix anyone else (even Husband!) and focus on myself and my own habits. Who else can I really change? No one.

Here’s my commitment:

I’ll post a mix of links to good and posts about my honest efforts to say goodbye to Grumblings. Come along for the ride — let’s find the good together and say goodbye to Grumblings!

I’m into extreme optimism and happy endings.