As I walked to my office I was in a mood. The mood to write about the power of mood. Funny that!
You see, whatever the mood you’re in, it is something very powerful. It’s like the undercurrent that just keeps pushing you into a specific direction.
When you know what mood you’re in, you can either choose to do things that benefit from being in that mood or change the mood to one that does benefit. For example, I was in the mood to share the power of mood and write – so what am I doing? You guessed it!
This other choice to change the mood can feel tricky because mood is made powerful because when you are in it, it holds you there and the momentum carries you. How you think and act just flows automatically.
However, often the mood may not be compatible with what you want from your day. Some of us like to call it “bad” – you may have heard of the “bad mood”. We all certainly grapple with this from time to time. The bad mood has a range of strands that can influence how you view your environment and ultimately predetermines how you react. Here are some strands of, let’s call it “bad mooditis”:
- The Cynic – you just expect everything to be untrustworthy and to work against you without looking into it
- The Pessimist – no idea or opportunity is ever going to improve your situation
- The Tragic – the world is just too hard and hostile
- The Rebel – you just don’t want to co-operate with anyone: you are over being nice or listening or agreeing with anyone
- The Depressed – no energy left to engage anyone or anything or care about the lack of engagement or the consequences
- The Hysterical – you just want to laugh at every opportunity because being serious about anything is just too overwhelming
We all can relate to these bad mooditis strands and many more. But the opportunity is there to know what mood you’re in because from there you can understand what you can expect in outcomes if you engage through each strand.
The cynic is destined to feel defeated, the pessimist remains stuck with no hope, the rebel will continue to alienate, the depressed will be isolated and the hysterical will continue to erode respect and attract disappointment. These outcomes are consistently predictable and hence it is vital we know our mood. Once you are on that train line, the stations are known even though the destinations are not desired.
Not matter what you say, your mood will dictate the outcomes. This is the power of mood.
Changing mood may not seem easy but is very doable. The brain has been triggered into thinking that mood is appropriate, so it’s our responsibility to trigger it into another mood more compatible with what we want to achieve for the day.
Here are some ideas that work for many of us.
- Use personalities, music and inspirational messages to trigger you out of that mood
- Meditate on a long walk on a beach to cleanse yourself and regain perspective
- Take deep breaths and exhale the tension until you are so relaxed, that bad mooditis is goneski!
- Read this blog and smile and realise the mood you started with is not the mood you are in right now. If that has not happened, at least I tried eh? 🙂
Either way, the key is to find and slip into the mood that makes achieving enjoyable and effortless.
The “Can Do” mood is a favourite of mine. Your imagination can really turn on and help you perceive often more than one way beyond obstacles. I would research that one more if you feel it has evaded you in some areas of your life.
I am now in the mood to meet a new associate, absorbing the essence of their passion until I feel a genuine connection that becomes the foundation to synergise and thrive.
Ciao 4 now!