Birth of a Mood

Moods are...... and then they change. You are always in a mood. Moods do not come out of the blue. They come out of your body, always. Moods come from thinking. Moods also come from reactions of the body to certain chemicals (food and beverage), or the chemical reaction of the body from a lack certain chemicals (food and beverage). Moods come from changing body chemistry (PMS, hormones, pancreas, liver, thyroid, brain). Moods NEVER come from people or circumstances. You are always responsible for your moods.

Let's review a few key points.

(1) Moods are..you are always in a mood. Good, bad, positive, negative, depressed, anxious, whatever.
(2) Moods always change.
(3) Moods do not come "out of the blue".
(4) Moods come from within the body, always.
(5) Moods come from chemical reactions within the body.
(6) Moods come from thoughts.
(7) Moods NEVER come from people or circumstances.

Let this post be a guide for you. Evaluate your moods by asking the following questions:

(1) What are my basic moods, i.e. those moods that show up most in my life.
(2) What is my MOST basic mood?
(3) What causes most of my moods? Thoughts or chemistry?
(4) What foods have I used to change my mood?
(5) What beverages have I used to change my mood?
(6) How often do I blame others for my mood?
(7) How often do I blame a circumstance for my mood?

Perhaps, rather than simply being a victim of a runaway mood, you can learn Mood Management Skills. NEXT POST. Mood Management Skills.

"Birth of a Mood"

     Moods. Attitudes. Everyone has them. They characterize a day or a portion of a day. Sometimes they can have little to do with the circumstances. In other words, the day can be exactly like the previous day. Nothing has changed. Nothing, that is, EXCEPT your mood. And, it could have gone in any direction, Up/Positive or Down/Negative. Is there something that triggers that mood change?

     Yes. Thoughts are connected to each other. Thoughts act much like a math problem. (2 + 2 = 4) One thought leads to another thought, leads to another thought, and so forth, until a "line of thinking" is in place.

As rain creates gullies and rivets through a mound of dirt, so thoughts have a "pattern". All it takes is one thought (positive or negative) to create an upward accent into a positive attitude or a downward spiral into negatively. Why? Because thoughts are learned in patterns, like a mathematical equation.

     If you are walking through the forest. Suddenly, you hear what sounds like a rattle coming from the ground.Your first thought is important because it will led to other important thoughts. Something along these lines....(1) That is a rattle sound  (2) rattle snake? (3) where? (4) bite! (5) die! (6) %$#@(&!!!! (7) Jump (8) Run.If those thoughts are close to what you would think if you heard a rattle while walking in the forest, it is safe to say that you learned to think that way from others, from reading, from watching movies or from personal experience. We learn how to think. Our thinking is often logical and reasonable.

     But, not always. Sometimes, yes quite often, our thinking is simply there. No reason. No logic. Just a thought that leads to another thought, to another thought, that creates a mood, either positive or negative. How is it that some individuals seem to be negative every moment of the day, no matter what the circumstances? How is it that some individuals seem to have happiness, more positive energy, no matter what the circumstances of the day. "I have learned in whatever state that I am in therein to be content." (Paul in the New Testament). Fairly positive, I would say.

     Mood is emotion. Emotion is a result of thinking. Thinking is learned. (see Paul quite above). So, one positive thought tends to led to another one of the same gender. Likewise, a negative thought tends to look for other negative thoughts. The goal? A mood. Either positive or negative. Remember, you create your world because you create your thoughts. If you are a positive or negative person, give yourself responsibility for that personality trait. If you are in a positive mood, that's right....it's your creation.

     Positive and negative moods carry a lot of energy. Energy is used to move things around.  A mood inventory will generally reveal which mood is our dominant mood and why. It always has to do with our education, i.e. the way we were taught to think AND which mood seems to work best for us in terms of getting things moved around the way we want them. Example: Some children have learned if they throw a temper tantrum they can usually get what they want. See what I mean? NEXT: "Your Dominant Mood and Why"