Day 16, 85% Waning Gibbous
Mood: Inspired
I didn’t have a great start this morning. It all happened in the kitchen. I decided to make myself a lunch box, which involved some fermented soybeans my Mom sent me all the way from China.
One person’s elixir is another’s poison. I absolutely love the taste and smell of the soybeans, but my boyfriend definitely loathes it. This morning again he had a strong reaction to it, complaining about the “nasty smell” of my favorite delight.
I couldn’t help but notice that I got upset instantly. Fire began to flare up inside of me. “Not a great way to start my day. Why couldn’t he…”
On my drive to work, I thought about what I said in our recent webinar on how to manage negative emotions:
Recognize it by naming the experience;
Own it by taking responsibility for my own reactions; and
Transform it by getting it out of my mind.
I don’t believe in such thing as “do as I say, but not as I do.” So I decided to follow my own guidance by admitting that I was upset. I also recognized that the feeling was caused by how I interpreted what happened, and that I could choose to respond differently.
Then I focused on my breathing for a while. Shortly after, my thoughts moved onto something else – something that inspired me instead. The anger dissipated and what followed was a day of inspired work.
It’s interesting how that works.
How are you feeling right now? Pause for a moment, connect with your feelings, care for yourselves, and record your journey.
Cycle Harmony's Mood Runner iPhone App and Mood, Symptom & Lifestyle Tracker are great tools to help you connect with your feelings, develop healthy lifestyles, and improve your mood, energy and health.
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