Change your thoughts – Change your mood

May 27, 2023 0 Comments

Do you ever wake up feeling grumpy? After a good night’s sleep, you open your eyes and instead of the usual “let’s get out of bed and see what the day brings” attitude, a little voice inside your head says, “put your covers back on, sulky, and let’s go back to sleep.” .”

What do you do when you feel like this?

You’re sitting at your desk minding your own business, and all of a sudden that voice starts saying things like, “I don’t feel like working anymore”… or “this job sucks.”

Do you surrender to that voice and let it control your actions? Or do you call it what it is… BAD MOODY… and change it?

We all have them. Bad mood can kick in after something goes wrong, or it can sneak up on you for no apparent reason. Maybe something you ate for lunch didn’t sit well in your stomach or maybe the light in the room is too bright… you might not even know what makes that sinister little voice sound. The important thing is that you know that you have the power to change it.

You don’t have to carry that state of mind with you.

The definition of mood: A state of mind or emotion.

Dr. Wayne Dyer says that once you realize that your mood comes from your mind, you can change it. He says that when you’re in a bad mood, if you repeat positive thoughts like “I want to feel good”…you’ll start to believe them and your mood will improve. It’s your choice. Change your thoughts… change your mood.

I know it may seem simplistic to you. Especially if you’re in a bad mood while reading this. There is nothing worse than someone telling you that your persistent bad mood is your fault. But… well… it is. **

The key to change is to have the awareness to identify the state of mind as negative and to know what works for you to get out of it. It’s different for everyone, of course. What works for some can make your mood worse. It is trial and error. The point is to try.

Ways to change your thoughts from bad to good:

Gratitude

Give thanks for what is good in your life. Direct your attention to what is positive around you. It can be hard to pinpoint a good thing when you’re feeling stuck and frustrated, but this is the time you need to do it the most. Strive to get out of your emotions and take a look at your life. Take out a sheet of paper and make a list. By remembering what you love in your life and recognizing what is positive, your spirit will be lifted.

physical movement

Move your body! Anthony Robbins says that the movement causes emotion. The way we maintain ourselves physically is connected to our emotional life. When you’re sad, you lower your head, lower your shoulders, and move slowly. When you’re happy, you stand up straight, you move fast, and you have energy, right? So, pretend if you must. Put energy in your extremities. Change the way you hold your body. Can’t go to a gym? Can’t jog around your block? It doesn’t matter, there are no excuses. You can jump up and down in your room for five minutes. Stretch. Touch your toes fifty times. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you change your posture and get your blood pumping. Assume a happy body position and your emotions will follow.

Don’t think about anything but what you’re doing.

Be present to your actions by paying attention to what you are doing. Stop thinking about autopilot.

Your thoughts cannot remain bogged down in emotion if you direct your mind to pay attention to the task at hand. No matter what it is, no matter how you feel about it… put everything you have into doing it. If you’re watering the plants, water the actual plants. If you’re watching TV, really watch it. Command yourself to pay attention to detail. Be the best TV watcher you can be. Your bad mood will disappear as your mind becomes interested in what you are doing.

smile therapy

Mother Teresa believed that “peace begins with a smile.” Well, it’s not that easy to smile when you’re in a bad mood. French physiologist Dr. Israel Waynbaum says he’ll try anyway. His research suggests that the facial muscles used in a smile trigger specific healing hormones, such as ecstatic endorphins and immune-boosting killer T cells. Smile therapy actually lowers stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline and produces happy hormones that relax muscles and actually stabilize blood pressure and mood. So smiling will make you feel better physically. He also discovered that the more we smile, the more we want to smile. Don’t you feel a smile coming on you? Fake it. Your brain doesn’t know the difference. Apparently, even a fake smile tricks the brain into releasing hormones. And before you know it, you won’t need to pretend.

Plan your near future

Give yourself something to look forward to. Call a friend and set up a lunch date, buy tickets to a ball game, make plans for Friday night. This acknowledges the fleeting nature of this state of mind and that you know you will soon be involved in an activity you enjoy. It makes the light at the end of the tunnel real and bright.

Check off your to-do list

Take an action toward one of your goals. Sign up for that cooking class, call the realtor, and go check out that store space you’ve been looking for. By taking action, you will feel productive. Just get started and you will most likely be caught up in a forward momentum of energy, leaving that bad mood behind.

Being in a bad mood is not necessarily a bad thing.

In the past, I would have put a lot of emphasis on the word “bad.” A bad mood meant something was seriously wrong. It meant a bad day and that bad things were sure to come. And then, I’d feel bad for being in a bad mood… and the big black cloud, dark skies, dead-end voice would turn me into a negative fear.

But, today I recognize that it is only a state of mind. I’m like, “oh look, my big bad wolf has decided to come out and say ‘hello’ today.” It doesn’t feel great, but it’s not a big deal because now I know how to handle it better. It doesn’t mean anything other than that I need to take action to get over it.

The next time you’re in a bad mood, do what you have to do to change it. Take the action that changes your thoughts and makes you feel better. You will most likely find yourself in a positive state of mind with a new sense of motivation. And suddenly that bad mood even did you good.

“There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” -William Shakespeare

**Note that I am talking about a typical short-term bad mood. If your bad mood persists for more than two weeks, I encourage you to seek professional help. Depression is different from a bad mood and can be caused by conditions outside of your control.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *