Break the bad mood mindset

Now don't get me wrong, I get into some bad moods!

My kids drive me up the wall some days and yep sometimes - not very often, I yell... yesterday I even cried! 

We all do it... we're all human, right? 

What's helpful here is to know that you're definitely not the only one who can get stuck in a bad mood. Who can feel like the tiniest things cause your storm cloud to rumble and rumble so loud that you can no longer hear your own mind reasoning for peace. 

How can you break this cycle?  

The fastest and simplest way to break the cycle is to remove yourself from the chaos and take a breath of fresh air... so let's say best scenario take a stroll around a garden or park!  

This is not always realistic... you might be stuck at work or housebound or for whatever reason you don't have the time to invest in a stroll. So your next best option is to step away from your area of stress.. your desk, your messy kitchen, your chaotic lounge room, your kids, your partner... give yourself some space to recollect yourself - a step out the front door or into back yard or balcony is great even if you don't go anywhere. 

While you're here take a big breath or a few and look into your self care checklist. Have you had a glass of water recently? Are you showered and dressed? What have you eaten today? Doing something for yourself will break your cycle... if your lippy kind of girl reapply.. you could splash your face with water, have a herbal tea.. whatever works for you!  

Now take a a look at your surroundings.

Yesterday I had the radio on with an expectation I would be able to lift the energy of the house we'd have a sing along and all be in the mood to get the house clean... my expectations failed me. The radio was loud and blaring ads, the kids were feeling frantic and tearing the place apart. 

Reduce that which is adding to your frustrations. Is that TV noise or radio blaring lifting your energy levels or lowering them? Do you need to change the station, turn it down or off? Is there a window open constantly fluttering papers and is that adding to your crazy? Either move the papers or close the window if it's adding to your stress. Are your clothes uncomfortable? Are you hot? These things don't seem like big causes of bad mood but they definitely amplify a situation. 

My expectations were not being met so I was getting frustrated that things were not working out the way I had planned in my mind.

My advice is to be realistic in your expectations and let go of your lists that demand too much from you. 

Think about what you'd like to achieve then look at your situation.

Do you realistically have the time to do all those things on your list? Do you have enough energy to finish that much work today? Will you really get uninterrupted time to spend on that project? Be kind to yourself because if you put too much pressure on yourself you are stoking the fires of overwhelm and the feelings of underachieving your goals.

I'm not saying feel hopeless, live in trash and don't set out to achieve anything.. no no. What I'm saying is work in portions and allow yourself the option to not have everything in order at the same time. In my case yesterday, trying to clean the kitchen whilst the girls dragged all their toys into the lounge room felt like I wasn't getting anywhere in my house cleaning escapade. But if I look at it realistically, the kitchen was looking great, the kids were occupied... did I really need to be feeling frantic and begging them to put their toys away? I could have just dealt with one room at a time and avoided my mini breakdown when the kids asked for some watermelon. 

The other side to consider is the other party, those close to you feeling the brunt of your bad mood. Sometimes it takes an apology to snap us back into ourselves and realize that which is important in the scheme of things. Our relationships not only to ourselves and reclaiming our power back into the realm of good moods but our relationships to those we respect, love and care for.

I had to apologize to my daughter, I told her I was wrong to yell at her and scare her like that. I had to explain I was feeling frustrated because things weren't going to my plan of cleaning house and I explained I needed some time without questions so that I can come back to myself in a good mood.  We hugged, she gave me space, we recentered and started again. 

The struggle is real. It's so easy to get caught up in the bad mood but it's not hard to break the cycle either.  

You're not alone in this, I'm here for you. 

many blessings 

Dania xx