123 – How To Handle A Bad Mood - a podcast by Alf Herigstad

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HOW TO HANDLE A BAD MOOD…
Welcome to being a better man, the podcast that is here to remind all of us, to be a better man today than we were yesterday…that includes me.  I get as much out of making this podcast as you get out of listening to it, so it is a win– win situation all around.  I am your host, my name is Alf Herigstad.
Hey I want to give a quick shout out to the newest Patron of the show, a man named Mitch Evancho has become a supporter, a Patron of this broadcast.  He did that by going to https://www.patreon.com/Alf_beingabetterman (PATREON.COM) and pledging his support.  Thank you Mitch!  It means a lot.If you want to do the same thing just click on these blue links>> https://www.patreon.com/Alf_beingabetterman (patreon.com) and check out the video I made, and see what it’s all about.
Ok, today’s episode is about how a man handles being in a bad mood.  A lot of us like to think we are never in a bad mood.  Some of us like to act as though bad moods and moodiness in general are the exclusive domain of women…lets be honest though, we all know that isn’t true.We are all human beings and sometimes, all of us are subject to finding ourselves in a less than cheerful disposition, regardless of our gender, or our intellect, our positive attitude, or our sheer toughness…It happens.
There is a formula out there that I agree with; it says life is 10% what happens to us, and 90% how we react to what happens to us, That 90% is the part that matters…that same formula applies to our mood.It’s tricky business because if your aren’t thinking about it, or if you are in denial about the mood you are in, it might express itself in ways that are not consistent with the kind of man you want to be. 
For example when some guys are in a bad mood it can make them short tempered and they snap at people around them.  Some guys might actually get mean and say ugly things they don’t really mean.  Other guys just become distant and aloof, separating themselves from the people around them which causes everyone else to feel like they did something wrong.  None of these are good things.The causes of a bad mood are infinite.  Sometimes someone can say something that rubs you the wrong way, it gets under your skin and acts like an infection in your mind without you even realizing it was there.  Or maybe something happened that disappointed you, or maybe several little things didn’t go your way all in a row?  Perhaps you disappointed yourself somehow?  The fact is, that is doesn’t take much to cause our brains to  get unhappy and that results in a bad mood.Sometimes, it seems as though nothing happened at all, and you are still in a bad mood.  It’s important to understand that our mental state is largely controlled by chemicals and hormones in our brain. 
Some psychologists believe that irritability is the result of us mentally trying to avoid some kind of behavior or temptation…like using your willpower to avoid eating bad food, or to not yell at the barista who got your order wrong, or maintaining control in a disagreement, or not acting out when you are being criticized by your boss.  These psychologist contend that this use of willpower drains our cognitive resources…so the harder we try to avoid something, the more likely we are to get in a bad mood.When we cross the line and become angry, irritable, cynical or mean…something else happens;  our blood pressure fluctuates and the production of the stress hormone cortisol is increased, which makes us even more unhappy, so it can be kind of a vicious cycle if we don’t do something about it.
OK, what should we do about it?  We are men after all.  We are the example of manhood in each moment we are living so how can we continue to be a better man even when plagued by a bad mood?The first thing we can do is go ahead and admit that a bad mood is happening…this might be the hardest part.  I...

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