You’re Not A Hippo, So Stop Wallowing

A Hippo may love to wallow in mud, but you my dear, are not a hippo…and you do not need to wallow in things that are getting you down, situations that are pissing you off, or relationship issues where someone is being an asshat.

It’s ok to have a bit of a rant or process what’s going on, but chewing old soup just makes you feel sicker.  Shit happens.  Let it go.  I know that’s easier said than done sometimes, and you just want to share and share and share the bad you’ve been done…but after a certain point, it stops helping.

Instead of feeling better after sharing, you feel worse, dirty, like you’ve been bathing in mud.  You’re just sitting in a muddy puddle of ‘it’s a terrible shame for me’.  You notice that after sharing, your blood is boiling and you feel even more hard done by or let down or just plain pissed off.

You are not a hippo – so quit wallowing.  Process by all means, but if you’re just wallowing in how terrible life is…get over it!  Here’s my favourite question to help you stop wallowing:

So, what are you going to do about it then?

Once you’ve had a chunter, or processed, or had a little bit of a rant…what are you going to do about it now?  How are you going to change it?  Because moaning and wallowing in your misery is no fun, and doesn’t tend to change anything…so, what you gonna do ’bout it?

“Where there’s no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases” Proverbs 26:20

It’s not often I quote the bible, but this is so apt.  If you keep ‘feeding the fire’ of whatever is getting on your wick or getting you down, the fire will continue to burn.  If you step out of the mud, and stop wallowing, the ‘strife’ you are causing yourself will cease.  The outer circumstance may not change, but you won’t be covering yourself in mud, which can only be a good thing!

PS This article is an excerpt from my fabulous book “Fall in Love With Life” – for more details and to buy, click here.