Leadership can be hard and discouraging at times. Bad moods when things don’t go well can become a regular outcome of your ups and downs as a leader. Here are four suggestions you can use now to cheer yourself up when you are having a bad leadership type of day.
1. Serve. One of the fastest ways to cheer myself up that I know of when I am in a bad mood is to do something nice for someone else. Do you have a friend or neighbor who is struggling that could use a visit, a phone call or service? Is there someone you could thank and make their day with a nice note?
Mark Twain once said: “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” So why not use your time helping someone else and change your mood as well.
2. Look for the Positive. Take five minutes and think of every good and positive thing in your life by taking a walk, looking out your window or simply closing your eyes and pondering. Reflect on your family, friends and happy moments in your life.
Think about the good things that have come your way. Realize that everyone struggles from time to time with adversity, challenges and setbacks, but the key is to appreciate the road ahead and that around every curve everyone also has successes, beautiful sunrises and joy.
3. Take a Break. Sometimes the best thing we can do is remove ourselves from a difficult stressful situation and replace it with something refreshing and invigorating. Exercise is one of the best ways to take a break when you are feeling a little grumpy or down.
Exercise releases feel good chemicals know as endorphin’s to our brains. It can be as simple as taking a walk around the office or taking a run. The key is to take a break and do something else different, preferably outdoors in the fresh air.
4. Eat That Frog. Mark Twain once said that if you eat a live frog first thing every morning, nothing worse can happen the rest of the day. It will also provide great energy. I have found that when I am feeling grumpy that the best thing I can do is find that frog and eat it.
The frog can be anything from making that difficult call to having that tough conversation with an employee to starting that project you dread. It’s anything that is really important that you have put off and procrastinated. My mood changes greatly when I am eating frogs and moving forward.
If you find yourself as a leader having a bad day or in a bad mood, try one of the above suggestions. Also never forget the simplicity of a good song, movie, meal or book to change your mood as well.
And then there is the simplicity of just trying. Charles de Lint, a Canadian writer, once said: “The thing with pretending you’re in a good mood is that sometimes you can.”
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