Low Moods, perspective, and not making it personal.

AHA'S AND ACTION:

Here are 2 thoughts, 2 inspirations, and 1 question for you to reflect on this week…

2 THOUGHTS FROM ME

I’ve learned that low moods are just part of being a human being. My dog Max died a few years ago – he was sixteen – and boy was I sad. He was the first animal that I really loved, and I was surprised by how sad I was. As each day went by, I began to think of the good times with him, my boys and I would laugh about the stuff that he did and then all of a sudden my sadness shifted to love and happiness. Nothing in my life changed. Max was still dead, but we all started thinking about him in a fun way, we shared goofy stories with each other and that’s how we choose to remember him. 

Our feelings are a shadow of our thinking in the moment, and we have the free will to think whatever we want to think. I choose to think about Max as the goofy, fun loving, little bundle of fluff that I love.

What’s helped me during times when I am in a low mood is remembering not to take those moments so seriously. I remember that moods move on their own, and that I don’t need to fix them or explain them. As my perspective quietly returns, life starts to look different again—without me doing anything at all. For me it’s like a soft blanket that I can curl up in whenever I need.

2 INSPIRATIONS FROM OTHER PEOPLE

“You don’t have to believe everything you think.” by Byron Katie.

“The mind, once stretched by a new experience, never returns to its old dimensions.” by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

1 QUESTION FOR YOU

When you’re in a lower mood, what changes if you treat it as temporary—rather than as something that means something about you or your life?

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