Changing our Moods.

Moods, moodiness, that blue feeling.  She's in a "mood."  Usually a negative word.  People who are moody are seen as "difficult", "unpredictable", "unstable."  Unfortunately people refer to creative people typically as "moody."  So how do we change being moody (assuming you don't want to be a person of moods).  First we must recognize that our moods come out as a result of our physical state of being.  Remember those mood rings that have been popular at different times over the years?  They change due to physical temperature.  When your temperature goes up or down - the color would change.  So our internal moods also change with our "temperature."  If we are overweight, inactive,eating unhealthy, dealing with an illness or chronic pain or anything that takes our focus and places it on our physical discomfort we may become "moody."  Discomfort causes moodiness.  How do we change that?  Some of us are so comfortable with our  physical pain that we go back to the same place of pain over and over and over - our mood is not comfortable but it is familiar enough that we keep going back to it.  We know that we should shake the mood by doing something different - by changing our physical climate - but the familiar pain is so much easier place to be than the challenge of change that we keep going back there.  People who cut themselves are a prime example.  Their moods start to slip and they cannot control their moody free fall - so they cut themselves in order to change their mood.  Woah!!  You would rather cut yourself which causes intense pain than pick yourself up by the scruff of the neck and shake off the mood through any healthy outlet?  Did you know that praying to God to remove a mood is not an answer?  You yourself have to shake it off!  Don't blame God that you are moody.  Blame yourself for not changing your physcial environment to shake off that mood.  Get a grip and stop wallowing people.  No one is going to do it for you.  You have to change your physical state to get out of a mood.  Here are some practical ways to shake off mood.

1.  Wear a snap bracelet and when you feel it coming on - snap your bracelet/rubber band etc.

2.  Literally shake your head several times to "clear it".  IF you are physically able, change locations.  Get out of your chair - office - couch - bed - and head to another location.

3.  Walk , run, plank, yoga, bike, any physical exercise will stop your mood.

4.  If you are not able to physically move because of age, disability etc. - write, read, listen to music, hum, sing, pray for someone, write a poem (it doesn't have to rhyme)

5.  Whatever your routine is?  Change it.  This is important.  If every morning you wake up, drink coffee, read the paper, go online, turn on tv, sit in the same chair - stop!!  Vary that routine if it is not working for you.  Wake up and go outside, eat an apple first, drink water, fix a smoothie, do your weekly shopping, bike, hike, whatever....just don't go back to the same physical space that causes you to be in a mood.

6.  Love yourself.  Yep - it is okay to do that.  God loves you warts and all - so if He can love you - then shake off your mood and love yourself.  How do you love yourself?  Make a list of things that make you feel loved and do them!  If you don't feel loved right now start with something simple - hug yourself.  Look in the mirror and tell yourself you are loved.  Brush your hair slowly and for longer than 30 seconds.  Make a list of all the great things people have said to you (and people have said good things about you...so shake it off and remember them).  Buy yourself a flower, or a chocolate or if you can afford it and like them - shoes!  Dance with yourself.  And if nothing else works - try a mantra along with your snap bracelet - God loves me and I love myself.  Over and over and over - until you shake that mood.

To change a mood you gotta shake yourself up - dust yourself off - and literally take it off like a coat.

You can go to prayer for many many things - but to ask God to change your mood? Nope.  I read this morning in my devotion with Oswald Chambers.  He writes--

There are certain things in life that we need not pray about— moods, for instance. We will never get rid of moodiness by praying, but we will by kicking it out of our lives. Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our true inner self. It is a continual struggle not to listen to the moods which arise as a result of our physical condition, but we must never submit to them for a second. We have to pick ourselves up by the back of the neck and shake ourselves; then we will find that we can do what we believed we were unable to do. The problem that most of us are cursed with is simply that we won’t. The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh.

I have a friend who is under going cancer treatments.  She calls them her butt-kicking sessions.  I love that!  She definitely has every reason to be moody - but instead she recognizes the truth - that moods need to be kicked out and don't blame satan or anything else for your mood - take responsibility and change it.

Let me know about your own mood kicking tricks.

Cathy Woolaway is available for speaking and worship engagements.  Contact her through this blog or at cwoolaway@yahoo.com