Next Time You're In a Bad Mood, Do This...

The other day I was not in a good mood. AT ALL. I was feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, and generally pretty darn cranky. 

But….

Even though I wasn’t in a good mood, I was still happy. I was still enjoying my journey. 

I’m sure you’re thinking: Oh, come on! How’s that even possible? How can anyone possibly be “happy” or “enjoying” anything if they’re in such a bad mood?!

Well, I’d like to share the trick I use to help maintain my joy even when I’m having one of those days.

Anytime I find myself in a bad mood, whether I’m feeling frustrated, sad, heartbroken, upset or whatever else, I stay grounded in knowing that everything is temporary. The emotions. The mood. The situation. All of it is temporary. This goes for the bad and the good. Everything is temporary. So no matter how crappy I might feel in that moment, I know that those feelings are only temporary and that they will pass.

That’s not to say that this is a magic trick that’s going to suddenly snap me out of it. What it does do, though, is lighten the emotional load and helps me to avoid dwelling or obsessing about the heavy feelings or situation I’m faced with. There’s no way to know, but it may even shorten the overall duration of the mood.

Something else that I think is equally important is taking a moment to check in with my internal guide and get clear on what exactly is triggering the feelings. In this particular scenario the other day, my struggle and feelings of frustration were coming from the fact that I’m in the process of learning and upleveling in a couple very important areas of my life and it was incredibly uncomfortable.

What that gut check did for me was remind me that learning and growth can be messy and doesn’t always feel good. Once I was able to pinpoint that that was what was going on, I was able to release a lot of the emotions and recognize the growing pains and honor the struggle. I was able to be gentle with myself because I was on the right track. And that growing pains are as temporary as emotions.

Sure, growth might be a challenge, but there is so much beauty in the struggle because that’s most often where there’s also so much growth. I was able to appreciate the discomfort I was experiencing that day and know that I would get through this phase and would be better, smarter, stronger because of it.

So the next time that you find yourself in a mood or situation that you don’t like, remind yourself that everything is temporary. Remember that it's just one momentary stop in the journey. 

I hope this helps you stay grounded in enjoying YOUR journey!