I’ve long collected research on the deadly dangers (both to our physical and mental health) of wallowing below the line in the swamp of negativity and pessimism. Wallowers usually call this being “realistic.” That’s very true. It is the cynical reality they’ve chosen to create for themselves.

When writing Growing @ the Speed of Change I came across this wonderful definition of wallowing from Wiktionary.org and just had to use as the opening quote for Chapter IV “Bogged Down: When We Wallow in the Swamp.” It’s very bitter swill to wallow. I couldn’t resist that Dad joke as a section heading for this chapter!

1. To roll one’s self about, as in mire; to tumble and roll about; to move lazily or heavily in any medium; to flounder; as, swine wallow in the mire. ‘With Smithers out of the picture I was free to wallow in my own crapulence.’
2. To roll; especially, to roll in anything defiling or unclean.
3. To live in filth or gross vice; to disport one’s self in a beastly and unworthy manner.

Many people have a problem recognizing they are in the swamp. It’s become so familiar and comfortable it feels like home. So I shifted through discussions from the hundreds of workshops I’ve facilitated on living above, on, or below “the line” for the most common “wallow words” participants used to justify, explain, or reinforce their negative reality. Chapter V of Growing @ the Speed of Change is entitled “Wallow Words: The Tempting Ten.” As stated in this chapter’s headline, my goal with these common phrases (e.g. “I am not a born leader”) was to take away excuses for “sinking thinking.”

I’ve just developed a new quiz based on the Tempting Ten. You can answer these ten simple questions in less than a minute and get a score showing whether you’re above, on, or below the line. Take the quiz “Where’s My Line”.

Amazon Book Buying Note
For anyone who is more comfortable buying books through Amazon – and especially for readers in the UK to save on shipping costs – Growing @ the Speed of Change is now available at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk. Click on any of these three sites to go straight to the book’s listing there.