Why Being Cranky Works Against You (And How To Turn It Around.)

None of us are immune to feeling cranky. It happens.

We all have bad days, maybe even a few frustrating months, or for some Americans, an election that didn’t turn out the way they wanted.

I’m all for feeling your feelings, acknowledging your pain and your hurt. That is part of being human,

But at some point, whether it’s in regard to your acting career, your personal life or another’s political view, you have to find a way to shift from focusing from being critical to being compassionate (towards yourself + others). That’s when things begin to shift.

I’m going to leave the political debate for those on Facebook (P.S. it’s OK to take a break from that too)

And stick with inspiring and uplifting you, which is always my weekly intention.

But, it’s not that I am immune to crankiness.
I’ve been very cranky the last few months. Why? I’ve been allowing what is not showing up, to dictate my happiness (or rather, unhappiness).

Yep, I do it too! I was frustrated that I wasn’t getting many theatrical auditions (especially after having so many awesome bookings + offers in the first half of the year). But in the last two months, there was a dry spell. Nothing, Nada, zilch and it was making me cranky.

And instead of finding a way to let go of that frustration and shift from from being critical to being compassionate towards myself (and others), it seemed to get worse every day. And then, what happened? All that resistance compounded within me, and I got sick – for weeks.

But what’s amazing about the path I am on in helping others, is that I always come back to re-learning what I teach.

And every month when I sit down to write a new guided meditation audio, even though I write them serve the heart-centered actors who love them, I often end up recording what I need to hear most.

It was a perfect experiment, because the crankier I became in the last few months, the more nothing was showing up, a testament to everything I know to be true…

You can’t condemn where you are and focus on what’s not working and invite in abundance. It defies law.

So I knew that I needed to switch gears, but how can you do that when nothing is showing up to make you feel better?

Well, that’s the underlying theme in so many of my guided meditations, getting into the feeling place before the manifestation appears.

So I wrote this month’s free guided meditation, Giving Thanks In Advance.

And in it, I guide the listener through feeling the joy of having auditions, of booking jobs, of positive relationships, of positive experiences and allowing that feeling to be enough. I recorded it and I started listening.

And just days later, I got the first theatrical audition I had in months for a top-of-show guest star role on a popular network TV show.

And then, I got pinned for the role. (Where they check your availability + ask you to hold the dates while they decide)

And then, I heard nothing for a week and a half, as they requested my demo reel and kept checking my availability, but still no booking.

In that time, I kept going back to my guided visualization audio, just #GivingThanksInAdvance for what was meant to show up, not panicking, not worrying, not doubting, but just giving thanks – expressing compassion, instead of criticism towards myself and the entire process.

I booked the job. I’ll be working all next week on a network TV show guest-starring with great scenes opposite the lead actress.

Will I say this audio helped me book the job? Absolutely.

Why? Here are 3 reasons the guided meditation helped:

1) It helped me to get out of my cranky stage where I stopped focusing on what was missing.
2) It helped me to start feeling as if what I wanted was already here.
3) It help me to walk in the first audition I’ve had in months and not allow my inner critic to take over with thoughts like…

• I’ll never book this
• I wish I were auditioning more.
• If I were auditioning more, I’d book this. (and on and on).

Instead I actually thanked the casting directors for being so amazing, for lovingly tweaking my performance to make it even better and for their love of actors. I was in a state of giving thanks.

So whether you listen to the audio Giving Thanks In Advance or not, my best advice is to find some way to have your cranky party for a day or two (skip the month or two like I did) and then don’t waste your days staying there.

Don’t waste your precious life focusing on what isn’t happening, what you can’t control, or what looks to be like it’s not working

It really is all so temporary.

When you make an inner-shift, remember that the outer world will always realign to mirror your perspective.

The change you want to see always begins on the inside.

Here’s to giving thanks in advance,

Feel free to leave a comment here on the blog. I read every single one.

Love + Gratitude,
Wendy

Want help feeling as if what you want is already here? Then grab Giving Thanks In Advance.

P.S. You can download Giving Thanks In Advance  for free (and keep it forever) in November only. Details here.