Don't be fooled by low moods

I learned a very precious lesson today. Don't be fooled by your low moods. That's it. Simple. Often times our perspective of things is tremendously influenced and affected by the way we are feeling at that moment. Thus all things status quo, life may seem to be unbearably serious and difficult when we are feeling low emotionally. This is so true for me that I thought someone just turned on the lights in my head when I read about this!

I can wake up in the morning feeling so upbeat, confident and happy, that life seems like a breeze, so much fun and I can't seem to get enough of it! However in a matter of hours, I could be hit by something, most probably not too insignificant and my mood can be completely spoiled. If I should decide to take a look at my life at that moment, things can seem pretty bad. If I dwell on it, it can even get depressing. The irony is nothing much has actually changed in my life, except for that incident. But at the point, my perpectives can be so warped that I may decide life is not worth living or feel like every area of my life is falling apart.

Thus the lesson I learned is not to be fooled by my moods. They happen, like any other human condition, and they will pass. It always does. At those low points, I should not try to analyse my life. To do that is emotional suicide. Yes, if I have a legitimate problem, it will still be there when my mood improves and I will be in a better frame of mind to make sound judgment and handle the situation.

This thought was highlighted to me by Richard Carlson, Ph.d, the author of 'Don't sweat the small stuff - and it's all small stuff'. They have an entire site dedicated to the Don't Sweat series.