Jul 17, 2015

Last week was a challenge. I felt unusually edgy and agitated. Something was gnawing at me. Like a balloon with a slow leak, by the end of the work week, I was depleted.

One of my first coaching mentors, Julio Olalla https://youtu.be/07RFmOQ8Nug made the distinction between a mood and an emotion. An emotion is a disposition that is event triggered. A mood is a recurrent disposition.

Early in the week, I had received some distressing news about someone I love dearly. Emotionally, I was sad. Then I was mad. Then I was hooked. One event, the bad news, brought an emotion (sadness) followed by the prevailing disposition of agitation, not my usual optimistic self.

Calgon take me away?! Sort of.

One of the best places to shift my mood is the lake. So, away I went. The soothing waters, the scenic vista, the fresh summer breeze coming off the lake was just what I needed. Another gem which I had learned from my mentor, Julio was the power of being our own observer. As a coach, I'll often invite my clients to simply observe, take a birds-eye view on themselves, their mindset, etc. This is how shifts happen.

As an observer, I could take an objective look at the mood that had gripped me most of the week. What I could see was that below the surface, the mood was actually resistance. Like a pin that pricked at me all week long, resistance. I did not like what was happening for this person I love. Duh. 

What a relief. I knew about the importance of being mindful of one's mood. I knew there is power in being an observer. Sometimes we have to re-learn what we know. Now I remember.

And the value of escaping to the lake? More on that next time.