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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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EXHAUSTED
As my young friend walked his bicycle up the hill on the way home, his face betrayed his exhaustion. He stopped to greet me, and I asked if he was tired. He said he was. So I told him I was tired, too, and planned on taking a nap soon. He emphatically replied, "Well I'm not." Then he pushed his bike the rest of the way home and disappeared inside. Seconds later, his mother came trudging up the hill. I related the exchange I'd had with her son. Scowling, she told me he wasn't tired, just grumpy. She said that at the store, earlier, her son threw a fit because she wouldn't buy a toy that he "needed." So he'd been in a fowl mood the rest of the day. When she took him to an empty parking lot to practice riding his bicycle, he was so grumpy that she cut the session short. Upset with his mother, he'd pushed his bike ahead of her toward home. I had to laugh because it's so typical of how little children and their parents interact and learn together. As I thought about it more, however, I realized that we adults still get "grumpy" when we don't get the things that we think we "need" as well. I had seen many examples of this while traveling recently. Grown adults who couldn't get the aisle seat they "needed" or the upgrade in cabin assignment they "needed" were certainly grumpy. They got grumpy when the flight attendants didn't give them the extra service they "needed." They even got physically aggressive when they "needed" to get off the plane or through the terminal quickly. Being "grumpy" is so emotionally draining that we exhaust ourselves just like my little friend did. He never got that toy he "needed," and few of us grumpy, tantrum-throwing folks ever do. Maybe we'd all be better off taking a nap instead.
© 2004 David Bentley David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world. You may contact him at 360.378.8436 by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com |
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