It is hard to manage what you do not measure. MoodMapping measures and monitors your state of mind upon which all your success depends. Talent does not succeed on its own, it has to be backed by the right mind set, and you have to be in the right mood to take on the world. The ability to maintain the right mood through thick and thick (this may not always be the mind-numbing positivity beloved of the happiness movement), is fundamental to any kind of success. Determination and resilience are the products of your mood, not the other way round. If your mood is out of control – so are you.
Out of control moods are frequently seen when stressed mothers take their toddlers round supermarkets, where toddlers regularly scream and throw themselves to the floor. That child’s mood is out of control, and no amount of shouting or physical abuse does anything other than transform that anger to fear, or distress. By the time lift off has been reached the best hope of a ceasefire is to bring calm and a dash of distraction into play. Chiefly calm is about reducing excessive stimulation, “go to your room” is not a bad exit strategy. Some children are more sensitive than others to the hustle and bustle around them, as are many adults. However most grown-ups have gone beyond shouting and screaming and hurling themselves to the ground, instead of venting their frustration on the world, they turn their anger inwards and harm themselves and those close to them.
It is not hard to see how important it is, to achieve any kind of success, that mood management is a basic part of the tool kit. The purpose of this writing is to explain mood with reference to the latest neuroscience research, by bringing that research into an everyday context.
31 day Plan – by the end of this course, not only be able to identify your own mood and those of the people around you: manage your own mood and that of the people around you; be able to teach these basic skills and
1 – Understanding Mood
What is it and where does it come from?
How to measure and monitor your mood
Mood has two parts
The two axes, of energy and wellbeing divide the MoodMap into 4 moods, High energy, negative wellbeing = Stress
High energy, positive wellbeing = Action
Low energy, negative wellbeing = Tired & exhausted
Low energy, positive wellbeing = Calm
These are the four basic moods, that reflect how we feel at a deep physical and mental level. They refer to the background against which we spend the day. It goes without saying that the better your mood the better your day. A good mood is anything on the right hand side of the graph. And just as most people like a the occasional horror movie, a little of stress can add zest to an otherwise mundane existence.
Equally, feeling tired and even exhausted after a satisfying days work is not a bad thing.
Having asked numerous people from all ranks, top and bottom of the pile, where they spend their time, the most successful people – that is those at the top of the various piles, from industry to academia, spend most of their day in the positive quadrant