Moody Grooves or Moody Blues
“The most important decision you will ever make is to be in a good mood.” ~Voltaire
Ok, I get it, sometimes we’re all just in a bad mood and we want to glower at the happy person in the room and think ill thoughts of them. What Voltaire is saying, however, is true. The most important choice we have every moment of every day is to level of our mood…how we feel, and how we react while in that frame of mind. There is science to back the statement up. As part of life skills teaching to our children, my wife and I will sometimes read snippets from the book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff, by Richard Carlson. They are well beyond fairy tales and they face challenges at school like we all have at one point or another. I have found that sharing tools to deal with life has had a positive impact on their school life as well as their other social interactions, they don’t get quite as geeked out about stuff like I did when I was their age, or so it seems anyway. Over the weekend I read to them a bit about moods and how awareness of our moods can help us in ways we never really thought of before. When we are in a good mood, life seems to be easier and we tend to feel happy. As the day wears on, we are more likely to have less buoyancy in our mood and things tend to loom larger than they really are. When our mood levels fall, so does our ability to get things done, simple tasks seem to become more challenging, our ability to be patient with co-workers or family ebbs away and we tend to become more irritable.
I know there are those of you out there who might be thinking, “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” but before you climb too high on the sarcasm bandwagon, there is science to back this up and the data make total sense. Psychology Today expresses how the findings of how mood can impact our cognitive functioning (i.e., how we think, reason, problem solve) are well established. Scientist still aren’t 100% sure why this is those the research continues. A recent study showed that people who demonstrated positive moods had a higher performance and better decision-making skills most of the time. The ability to have the cognitive awareness of our mood is a critical first step in helping us to understand our own behavior and our ability to develop a positive self-efficacy (the level in which we believe in our own ability to accomplish a task or goal). When faced with choices, decisions or challenges throughout the day, take a moment to assess the current status of your emotional well-being before moving forward with a final action. I’m not saying you need to be happy all the time before you can make an informed decision, what I am saying is that don’t make rash choices without a quick self-assessment if you can help it. Just as good things happen to people who are in a positive mood, people who are in a negative mood see the world through a much darker lens and cynicism sneaks into the thought process that could impact the overall outcome of an action or thought.
How does this all relate back to the notion of don’t sweat the small stuff of life? Moods are a fleeting thing. They ebb and flow like the ocean tides and can be affected by our daily interactions much like the phases of the moon impact the rise and fall of the seas. We all have good days and bad. We all have highpoints to the day and low. The trick is to recognize these changes in our mood towards the positive or the negative and adjust our own actions accordingly. You may be surprised how different your outlook on the world might change if you can gain a better understanding of our moods and what outside forces impact those moods. As Charles Swindoll once said, “Life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% of how we react.” If we can react with a positive mood at life’s curveballs and with less pessimism, what a difference that could make in our world. Think about it. Take care of yourselves and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.
Wm Reid
Best Home Care Services
325 N Eastern Ave
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833
wmreid@bhcshealth.com