There are some days when I come home from work and realize that I'm not in a very good mood. It's always kind of shocking. That might sound silly, but my job (training camps) is very people-oriented, and I'm an extremely people-oriented person. Social interactions energize me, so coming home feeling drained and snappish is a little disorienting.
On those days, I know I need a pick-me-up to keep my grumpiness from spilling over onto my family and friends. Sometimes it works to get out of the house and hit another trainer's camp or go a few rounds with the punching bag, but that's not always possible with five kids. Since exercise is my go-to bad mood buster, I've spent some time searching for quick fixes for a mood funk. Lo and behold, The Financial Diet has a list of 14 ways to bust that bad mood -- and they're all free. Here are my two favorites:
PICK UP THE PHONE
Call a relative or a close friend you don’t often get to catch up with. It’s more mood-boosting than you think. You’ll be excited that you actually made the effort to see how your long-distance friend or favorite cousin is doing. More importantly, you will reconnect with someone you love. Sharing how you're doing can be therapeutic. And maybe you'll realize you aren't doing as badly as you thought you were!
Pick up a book
Bring a book to read on your lunch hour. A book is always a great escape from one's troubles. Or better yet, start an at-work book club once a week during lunch. Even if you’re just reading a chapter a week, it will motivate you to look at something non-work-related during the day. Sharing book thoughts with co-workers can also help you relate to each other in beneficial ways.
BONUS TIP: VISIT THE LIBRARY
But my favorite bad-mood-buster is probably taking my kids to the library. They each have their own library card, and the library has a little play zone that my toddler loves to explore while the bigger kids wander the library shelves, finding a few books that catch their eyes.
The library has basically become my mothership. There's something incredibly soothing about the hushed silence, the rustling pages, and the harassed librarians reminding children to walk and whisper in fierce whisper-shouts.
I'm not going to lie though -- the biggest draw to the library is knowing that when we get home, I'm basically guaranteed at least an hour of silence and iced coffee while the kids dive into their new books. There's no mood so bad that it can't be fixed with some iced coffee and blissful, blessed silence.
