UMBC Wellness in the Workplace

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August 2011: “Design an effective mood”

How often have you noticed your negative mood affect your own happiness and the happiness of others? Moods have an inherent viral effect…once embodied by someone, they can quickly spread through a family, an office, communities, countries, etc. At some point someone either consciously or unconsciously designed that mood and the design made a positive or a negative impact. Moods are created by particular events that happen in our lives that have emotional significance. We have a choice when we encounter these emotions: we can see them as temporary or long lasting. If we see our situation as long lasting, we create a story that our situation ‘is the way it is,’ and we begin to embody a mood. The question is to determine what impact that mood has on you and the various partners in your life. If it’s a negative mood and you don’t like the negative impact you see, how might you shift the mood to one that’s more effective and life-affirming for you and others?

Notice what happens over the next month as you observe your various moods. How do they positively and negatively impact you and your relationships? Try shifting a negative mood. What do you notice in how you feel and how others perceive you? Do your relationships improve as a result?