Warning Signs Your Future Is Actually and Absolutely In Danger

American presidential politics was impacted in the recent passed by a situation where a person’s mood resulted in not becoming a candidate for president.  The story is a classic illustration of how mood directly impacts a person’s thinking and subsequent actions.

Sadly, the mood was one of grief over the loss of a beloved son.  As Joe Biden attested to in his announcement of not getting into the race, dealing with the mood of grief delayed having any thoughts about a candidacy for president.

Very understandable, don’t you think?  I mean…how do you possibly wrap your mind around the loss of a loved one and getting organized to run for president at the same time?

The simple answer is you don’t!  It’s not a fault of Joe Biden.  It’s a fact for all of us.  Our mood (AKA mindstate) drives our thinking and actions.

What about your moods?  How do they impact your thinking and behavior?

The answers to those two questions are a challenge for all of us…so, what to do?  Well, maybe awareness of some warning signs that your mood is putting your future into actual and absolute danger would help you.

Warning Sign:  Your mood is one of malaise.

You know the feeling…you just can’t get started at anything.  It’s like you’re in “The Twilight Zone!”  You almost feel ill but in your heart of hearts you know that’s not it.  You’re not sick…you’re just stuck feeling a sense of deep despair!

Specific Action:  Force yourself to move your thinking over to something that is overwhelmingly important in your life.  Make a list of all the reasons you are grateful for that important something being in your life.  Pick one reason you are grateful and take positive action to reinforce your gratitude.

Example:  Even while stuck in your malaise, you still feel a sense of gratitude for the job you have.  From the list of all the reasons you are grateful for the job, the most important one is the feeling of accomplishment it gives you.  Take that feeling of accomplishment and complete a meaningful item on your to-do list at work. 

Repeat the process until you have overcome your mood of malaise.

Warning sign:  Your mood is one of total panic over a lack of a sense of direction in your life.

You’re skittering around like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.  “I’m late, I’m late…” but you don’t know for what, why or where. 

Specific Action:  Reflect back on a time when you felt empowered and had a clear sense of direction.  Answer these questions:

·         What period in my life did I feel the strongest sense of direction?

·         What were the most important characteristics of that period?

·         How do the characteristics in the former period differ from those in this period of my life?

·         Which of those characteristics could I replicate in this period of my life?

·         Who or what can help me build a plan to replicate as many of those characteristics as are needed now to feel a renewed sense of direction in life?

Act on the plan until you restore a mood of empowerment and sense of direction.

Warning sign:  Your mood is one of frustration at not reaching your current goals.

If you were Thomas Edison, you feel like you are somewhere in the middle of his 1000 unsuccessful attempts at creating the electric light bulb.  You can’t really understand the situation.  When you set the goals, you felt like you were excited to start the journey to achieve them. 

Specific Action:  Analyze what has been happening as you have been pursuing your goals.  Answer these questions:

·         Exactly why do I want to achieve each goal?

·         Which goals can’t I muster a visceral feeling of why I need to achieve it?

·         For those goals lacking a “why” is it worth trying to develop such a feeling or should I delete them from my goal list?

·         For those goals where I know why I need to achieve them, how can I adjust my action steps, so I can adapt my plans to meet current circumstances and ultimately achieve the goals?

Be like Edison…each time you fail keep adapting your action steps to achieving your desired goals.

If you look at the above moods and the suggested specific actions to change them, you will see a common thread. 

The thread is changing your mindstate (mood) requires you to change your thinking and behavior. 

There is no other answer to overcoming those warning signs your future is actually and absolutely in danger.

What is your mindstate (mood) right now and how are you going to use the above information to do something about it?

Please share your thoughts by commenting below.  

And…please forward this information to others by following the social media share link at the top or bottom of this post. 

Thank you.