“The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.”~Voltaire
For some of us, now continues to be hard.
It’s hard as our clients work to figure out back to work and the “new norm” and how to balance virtual and in-person. As they confront and challenge their Equity and Inclusion practices…and personal beliefs and biases. As they juggle all the new realities, along with all the uncertainty that remains.
For many of us, now is hard.
Which is why we know that making a decision to be in a good mood is an important decision to make.
We’re not suggesting that we ignore the difficulty or the challenges. We’re not advising that we slap a smiley face on everything that’s going on and all we have to deal with, especially as we work with and lead others.
We are suggesting that even with all of the difficulty and challenges, we can and do have the choice of how our moods keep us down or fuel us forward.
The other day a client was sharing with me all that they were facing and handling. They were working through misunderstandings at home and disagreements at work. And they were pretty miserable about all of it.
I listened to all they shared, validated how it affected them and how tough it was, and asked them how it was affecting their mood and what they wanted to do about it.
My client paused. Reflected. And then slowly said, “Well, I need to figure out how to get through all this, and I need to figure out how to not let all this ruin my day.”
So, we strategized. We strategized how they could better handle the misunderstanding and how they could work with the disagreement to find a powerful solution. Then we strategized how they could choose to be in a better mood despite everything and how they could bring ease and lightness to all of this and a smile to their face.
They made the decision to be in a good mood because they’ve learned that being in a good mood makes the tough stuff easier to figure out and handle. It makes us a bit less irritated by the irritating people and situations and a bit more flexible and easier to get along with ourselves. It broadens our perspectives so that we’re open to other possibilities and options.
It is one of the most important decisions you can make.
How do you shift your mood to help you?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
For support in managing and leading through the hard (and the easier), contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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