By Cindy Campbell

I’m in a mood today.

Come to think of it, I’m in a mood every day. The power is in knowing that I have choices about my mood du jour–and so do you.

Moods can positively or negatively influence every activity we’re involved in–routine interactions with friends, family, co-workers, customers. Our mood can also affect our ability to make logical, thoughtful decisions. In every situation, we’re able to choose a mood that can work to our benefit–or to our detriment. The mood choices we make ultimately affect how we are perceived by others, yet we sometimes fail to recognize our ability to manage or choose our mood when encountering unpleasant attitudes or challenging circumstances. Moods are our emotional response to someone or something.

So, ask yourself: Does your mood swing more than a kid at recess?

The good news is that we can manage our mood by changing our mindset–our mental attitudes and thinking habits. Changing our mindset allows us to choose the appropriate mood for the situation.

We all have those days when we wake up feeling unhappy, frustrated or even anxious about something. It could be a situation we’re anticipating or maybe it’s a carryover bad mood from something we’ve previously experienced. When we allow these gray cloud thoughts to influence our present mood choice, we’re effectively throwing up our hands and giving up our ability to determine how we will conduct ourselves. Sounds childish, right? Recognizing our choice–our power and ability to take control over our mood going forward–is the first step. If you find yourself in a mood dilemma, take a moment to figure out what your strong mood is really about-what you’re feeling and why. When you can identify the cause of your mood, you can then develop a new mindset to positively move past it.

Our moods should never dictate how we are perceived in a professional setting. Moods and mindsets go hand in hand. And remember, they’re always yours to decide.

Cindy Campbell is IPMI’s senior training and development specialist. She is available for customized in-person or virtual training; click here for details.