Embracing Emotions with the Seven Dwarfs

Ever wondered why you morph into Grumpy from Snow White when you're sleep-deprived? Tune in to Holly's Highlights as I unravel the mysteries processing emotions such as grumpiness, sharing my own experiences and the biblical wisdom that keeps me grounded. From practical tips like avoiding caffeine and getting more sleep to the soothing power of scripture, learn how to tackle all our emotions with purpose.

We'll also have a bit of fun examining how the seven dwarfs from Snow White represent the spectrum of human emotions and qualities. Drawing insights from a fascinating GeeksforGeeks article, we'll relate each dwarf's persona to our own emotional journeys. Whether it's Doc's wisdom, Happy's optimism, or Sleepy's constant drowsiness, there's something for everyone. Join me for a heartwarming and informative discussion that promises to leave you feeling encouraged, inspired, and equipped to manage your emotions and live a purpose-filled life.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hi friends, welcome to Holly's Highlights, a podcast designed to encourage, inspire and equip you to intentionally live your life full of purpose. I'm your host, holly Kirby, motivational speaker, leadership cultivator, marketing strategist and personal cheerleader. Let's check out today's highlights. Might I ask a personal request? Would you mind taking a moment to rate, even leave a review, of Holly's Highlights podcast? I'd sure appreciate your time and consideration, as rating and reviewing helps others locate Holly's Highlights podcast and hopefully provide more opportunities for the time and intentionality of these episodes to be shared, to encourage, inspire and equip others to intentionally live their lives full of purpose too. I greatly appreciate you doing so and thank you to those who have already rated and reviewed. Holly's Highlights podcast has a five-star and a five-star rating is ranked top 10% globally of all podcasts, is listened to on every continent and is ranked in the top 10 on GoodPods for how-to Christianity and self-development and top 50 for business. Thank you, and thank you for listening to and sharing with others Holly's Holites podcast.

Speaker 1: 1:16

Hi friends, I recently survived a month where the aftermath left me well completely sleep-deprived. I was lacking social engagement, such as lunch out with my friends and even getting to do things with my family that we enjoy, such as going to the new movie release of Twisters and even getting to attend church on Sundays. Now, the result of all of this? I found myself getting really grumpy. Now grumpiness can look like different things and different people being moody, irritable, frustrated or, for some, even anger can present itself. Now, of course, we've all heard it before as to what to do to avoid being grumpy. For some, it's things such as avoiding alcohol, caffeine and other stimulants, whether that be drugs, tobacco, et cetera. Most of us, it's going to be getting more sleep. And then there's the identifying what makes you grumpy, so those triggers or any patterns you have, and to do that you can either journal or simply make a mental note. And then, of course, that when these triggers happen, to do what helps you so, such as removing yourself from the situation or focusing on your breathing. For some it's meditation, being alone, listening to music, talking to friends, taking a walk, reading.

Speaker 1: 2:30

I personally enjoy spending time in God's Word. Now, some scriptures that help me is, first of all, philippians 2.3,. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself. And Proverbs 11, 25,. The generous will prosper. Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. These remind me to focus on others, not on myself or whatever is making me grumpy. The second one I like to look at is Psalms 46, 10, be still and know I am God, which simply reminds me to stop to sit and just allow my entire being to simply be still, something that is often against our very go-go. Take action, nature right. And then the third is Romans 6, 12, do not let sin control the way you live. And Ephesians 4, 26,. In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you're still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. These remind me that, whatever emotion I'm feeling, not to give way to it or to where it travels down a path of sin, and definitely not to let Satan have an opportunity to use it. Now one thing to clearly understand and remind ourselves here emotions can be healthy and normal. We do have to learn how to recognize, to process and handle our emotions.

Speaker 1: 3:54

Though In the movie Snow White we're introduced to seven dwarfs, can you name them? Okay, here we go One, two, three, four, five, six and seven. Okay, we'll see how you did. But have you ever wondered why? They're all representative of emotions, feelings and even qualities that we can have in life. Well, an article in geeksforgeeksorg breaks it down. So here we go, let's see how you did. First one, doc, who was wise. The second one, happy, who was joyfully optimistic. That third one is Sleepy, well, just that, a slumbering dwarf. The fourth one, bashful, who's shy and timid. Fifth one, sneezy, the dwarf with a perpetual cold. The sixth one, dopey, the silent yet expressive dwarf. And, of course, that seventh one, grumpy, the cantacruz, contrarian. Well, 78 years later, movies such as Inside Out are still having main characters based around joy, fear, anger, disgust, sadness, for the intent, as ABC News puts it, that all emotions are valid and serve a purpose.

Speaker 1: 5:10

So how do we recognize, process and even handle such emotions purposefully? Well, first step, recognize that we go through different seasons of life and with those seasons of life, it is okay to not be okay. Listen to that again it is okay to not be okay. Keep in mind that it's just that, though it's a season. So often people walk through life trying to push aside a feeling. They tell themselves it's not okay, or they shouldn't feel that way, or they might even think such feelings make them feel weak or less than, or they run to go, get help to this feeling is wrong, my friend. Recognize it and give yourself permission to feel it. It is perfectly healthy to feel the emotions that we feel. So recognize the emotion that you're currently walking through.

Speaker 1: 6:06

The second step is going to be processing the emotion. You know our core memories, our experiences in life, even fears, insecurities and dreams. They're all going to play part in contributing to the emotions we feel in the various seasons, the depth of that emotion and even the temptations as to what to do with that emotion. Now avoid the comparison of how others around you deal with the emotions or even what that emotion looks like for them, because you're each coming from different viewpoints, paths that led you to where you are today and even purposes for walking through the emotion that you're feeling. The purpose is not to not feel the emotion, but rather we can, as 2 Corinthians 10, 5 says, take captive our every thought and make it obedient to Christ. We can ask ourselves why do I feel this way, or what led to feeling this way? What do I need to do as a result of feeling this way, or even, do I need to do anything as a result of feeling this way? So, once you've recognized it now process it.

Speaker 1: 7:13

The third step handle the emotion. Now, while it's perfectly healthy to let yourself feel the feels, so to speak, it's okay to speak up and even ask for help too. Now my kids have heard me say before I just need a little mommy timeout, and my prayer warriors have received numerous texts of prayer, hand emojis asking them for prayer. They don't need to know all the specifics or even the emotion, necessarily, but they can know I'm asking for them to just stop and lift me up in prayer. Just having someone to reach out to can make a world of difference. So build your network. You're heard, as you've heard me say before and in my book Facelift. Have those around you that you can go to, that you can trust and they're there to be able to reach out to when you need to. My dad used to advise people that he'd counsel to even write a letter. Write a letter with all your emotions and your feels. Just don't send it to anyone.

Speaker 1: 8:08

Often, being able to just get things off of our chest can help us recognize, process and handle the emotions we're feeling. Now, this is often why people choose to journal and remember how we handle. The emotion will look differently for each of us, and that's okay too. So if you're not a journaler, that's okay. There's other ways, right? The key is to handle the emotion in a way that doesn't cause you or others harm and that is healthy in the long run. Don't allow yourself to sit in them up too long, though. That's where we can spiral down a slippery slope into woe, is me, depression and other depths. Rather, recognizing, processing and then handling the emotion allows us to keep putting one foot forward in front of the other, making progress, allowing the emotions to build our character, and forward in front of the other, making progress, allowing the emotions to build our character and develop perseverance and have a healthy, well-balanced outlook on life.

Speaker 1: 9:00

Emotions and all this can often be what trips some parents up. They don't allow their children to either experience emotions so that helicopter parent or, worse yet, they don't allow them to learn how to process and push forward through the various emotions. Emotions are a part of life and they are a part of growth, and they're also a part of building us as a healthy individual. So will I stay in the grumpies forever? No, it's just a season. But having the grumpies does allow me to appreciate the emotion of joy even more, and it allows me to not only count my blessings, so to have gratitude, but also be mindful of others around me and sensitive to their emotions too. As American football wide receiver Josh Gordon said, I am a human being with feelings and emotions, scars and flaws, just like everyone else.

Speaker 1: 9:53

Now a little caveat here if you're recognizing, processing and handling your emotions is just still feeling like a daunting task, feel free to reach out to your local resources, whether that be a family member, teacher, church leader, resources for your job or, if you've used all of those, even a counselor. Focusonthefamilycom offers many free resources thanks to their generous donor support. You can also check out other related episodes here on Holly's Highlights, such as four tips to have a grateful heart in season one, episode seven. How to deal with disappointment season two, episode 20,. A season of rest season two, episode 23,. How to have an attitude of gratitude season two, episode 26,. How to deal an Attitude of Gratitude Season 2, episode 26. How to Deal with Grief Season 3, episode 4. And Four Areas for Balancing Our Health and Wellness Season 3, episode 7.

Speaker 1: 10:44

So, as you go about your day, whatever season of life you're in, whatever emotion you're experiencing, recognize it, process it and handle it as you bloom where you're planted and enjoy the journey you're on. Have a great day for a great day. My friend, thank you for joining me on this journey of life. I hope that today's highlight has been encouraging, inspiring and equipping so you can go out and live your life full of purpose. I'd be honored if you'd take a moment to leave a review or, better yet, subscribe. We can also stay in touch by joining my email list at hollykirbycom, that's H-O-L-L-Y-C-U-R-B-Ycom. Until next time, make it a great day for a great day.