Manage Your Energy to Manage Your Mood
The next time you find yourself in a bad mood, ask yourself how much it has to do with what is happening around you, and how much it has to do with your energy level.
Entrepreneur Darius Foro tried to find out why he was in a bad mood on some days and good on others. After some diary, he made an interesting observation:
[…] I finally discovered a pattern. How I feel is determined by my energy.
- High energy? Good mood, self-confidence, looking forward to the future, chest, smile, pleasure and doing what I like.
- Low on energy? Bad mood, sadness, fear of the future, shyness, avoidance of eye contact, anxiety, etc., etc.
You might think this is pretty obvious. But no one ever taught me how to manage my energy. Not at school, not at work, not in business. But managing it had a big impact on my quality of life.
Before we continue, I want to clarify that energy is not the only factor that influences mood. Chemical imbalances, hormonal shifts, constant external stressors, work that takes away control or free will, financial worries, etc. can all affect your attitude towards yourself and the world.
But many of us saw an overworked, hysterical toddler and thought we really shouldn’t have skipped sleep tonight.
It is worth asking if the same applies to you.
Not that most of us take a nap during the day , of course. But we can still examine our lives and see if there are ways to better manage our energy levels.
To quote the Forum again:
Ask yourself:
- “What activities spoil my mood and drain my energy?”
- “What activities make me feel good and energize?”
He reminds us that some activities are hard, focused work; House cleaning; Exercises – may not return an appropriate burst of energy until they are completed. Likewise, certain activities can make you feel better for 10 minutes before you feel worse than at first.
And sometimes, other than a good old-fashioned rest, nothing will return your energy.
But I know exactly what Foru means when he says that low energy days make him more anxious, more fearful of the future, and so on. Sometimes in the morning I use my little mantra : “You haven’t slept enough to trust your feelings.”
And you? Some people use HALT checks , for example, to ask themselves if it is (for lack of a better term) that they are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired – and then take action based on what they find. … If you have similar tricks or techniques for managing your energy and / or mood, please let us know.