26th February 25
Mood
I didn’t really sleep well last night (it’s the dreaded hot flushes) so when I woke up this morning I was in a right bad mood.
There was a few things good about it though: 1) I recognised I was in a mood, 2) I realised why and 3) I chose to change it!
This is the first time I have thought about it like this, but it made me realise that these daily drawings are helping. It’s making me take note of things going on around me.
I have learnt that there are many things that can alter your mood – the type of food you eat, the weather, boredom, not enough exercise and, in my case, lack of sleep.
Your mood can affect your whole day, and the people around you. I heard a story about a teacher who would get their students to pick a mood face of how they were feeling that day and place it on a tree. So, every morning when the teacher came in she could judge the mood of her class and she would adapt her teaching according to their mood. She said it was very effective.
This morning, when I woke up, I decided I wasn’t going to be in a bad mood and chose a better one. I wasn’t going to let my bad sleep dictate my whole day.
After I made that decision I didn’t even think about my bad mood again. I had decided and that was the end of that. In fact, making that decision put a smile on my face because for the first time I felt I was in control – control over how my day played out.
It made me realise that while we can’t always control what happens to us – like hot flushes, sleepless nights, or unexpected stresses – we can control how we respond. And today, I chose better.
