Bad Mood? How to Move Through it with Ease

With the snowy cold weather here in Canada I have been going to indoor spin classes to stay in shape for mountain biking season.

I like to go to the intense spin classes where they turn off all the lights, start up a disco ball, and play heavy electronic music.

It reminds me of my music festival days when I was 20.

(Although now at 38 I wear ear plugs because it seems “too loud” ??)

If you have been to a spin class, you know that some of the workout is focused on sitting in the bike seat and pedaling more slowly through a heavy gear, mimicking an outdoor hill climb. This is my favourite part as it reminds me of actual mountain biking.

Other parts of the workout have you standing on the bike, moving your legs incredibly fast to a quick beat, and coordinating all kinds of arm and upper body movements. You’re essentially dancing on a stationary bike. This is my least favourite part.

There are some days that spin class feels easy. When the class is over, I’m tempted to sign up for the next one and do it all over again.

There are other days where the same spin class with the same instructor and same workout feels hard.

On the hard days, the fast workouts feel as if my legs are not connected to my upper body and they just don’t seem to move fast enough to keep the beat.

If you exercise regularly, you have probably noticed there are days working out feels easy and you feel strong, and there are other days working out feels hard and your body feels slow or heavy.

This is normal.

It’s because our bodies are living systems. Rather than being the same experience every day, our bodies ebb and flow in their strength and abilities on a day-to-day basis.

On the days that a spin class feels harder than usual, I know that it could be due to several reasons such as what I ate that day, how well I slept the night before, how hydrated I am, my electrolyte levels and salt intake, etc. etc.

But whatever it’s due to doesn’t really matter. When the class feels harder I know that it’s an off day and I will likely feel better for the next class. It’s not a big deal.

It’s the same thing as when we find ourselves in a bad mood.

Our moods are a result of whatever we are thinking about.

This is because we are all living in the feeling of our thinking.

The content of what we think about ebbs and flows, and sometimes we get stuck on something that feels negative, frustrating, annoying, upsetting; which can lead to a bad mood.

Similar to a harder workout day, when we find ourselves in a low mood it’s not a big deal.

The more we accept our low mood as an off day, the quicker it will pass by and the next day will likely be better.?

It’s so freeing when you realize a low mood is not a big deal. Just like a physical workout day that feels harder, a low mood is a temporary experience passing through.

It’s when we try and “figure it out” or try to attribute our mood to something outside of us that needs to be fixed, is when we get stuck there and the low mood persists.

Another great metaphor by one of my mentors Dr. Dicken Bettinger is that of a storm.

When a rainstorm moves into your city, we never say to ourselves, “This is my new reality to live in this gloomy rainstorm for the rest of my life.”

We know that rainstorms are temporary. After a relatively short period of time, we know that the storm will pass through and we will return to dry or clear weather.

Our moods are the same.

When you have a low mood roll in (fueled by dark stormy thoughts), remember that it’s just temporary.

The more you leave it alone and not engage in your dark stormy thoughts by trying to figure it out, the quicker it will pass through.

(It’s counterintuitive, I know!)

Low moods and bad moods are part of the human experience. We are living systems that ebb and flow.

Allow yourself to be in the ebb.

When the temporary bad mood passes through, you will return to your natural state of a clear state-of-mind. And it will be much easier to see what needs to be done and to address anything outside of you that was leading to the dark stormy thoughts in the first place.

Remember that your True Nature is a quiet mind, which is where you experience calm, contentment, and peace.

Any other experience such as a bad mood or dark stormy thoughts is just temporary.

Let any temporary experience go and pass through to return to your clear mind, and then tackle your day.

You got this,

Tracey

P.S. I am in process of putting together an Adventure VIP Coaching Experience. Once a year and for one person only, I will be hosting a 1:1 coaching experience where we will go hiking and mountain biking in Squamish, Revelstoke, and Kelowna, BC to all of my favourite locations. It will take place over a 6 month period with outdoor adventures on 3 weekends and coaching calls in between. I was inspired to create this experience after meeting one of my clients in Utah and hiking Angel’s Landing together in Zion’s National Park. I want to share my love of a coaching and adventure in Beautiful BC. It is for one person per year and is by application only. If you are interested in applying, send me an email at [email protected] and say “Adventure Coaching” and I'll reply with more details.

P.P.S. This past week I was interviewed as a guest speaker and local changemaker and entrepreneur for our local Business Matters Podcast here in Kelowna, BC. Once the interview is out, hopefully this coming week, I will share the link with you.