How to Improve Your Disposition When in a Bad Mood

This beauty may eventually regret her bad day.

I don’t care who you are or what you do. The fact is that we all have bad days when we aren’t the most pleasant to be around for one reason or another.  Chances are there are days that others may see you differently regardless of how you see yourself.   Unless you want to jeopardize relationships and offend your friends and coworkers, then do yourself a favor by finding the cause in a timely fashion before you do or say something that you’ll eventually regret.

Ask Yourself What Brought Out This Nasty Mood

The easiest way to understand why you are suddenly hard to be around is by trying to figure out what triggered this change in your mood.   Did something happen at work that you deem as unfair like the boss piling on more work than usual or taking credit for your work as his?  Of course, this would make you angry. Without realizing it, you could be alienating those closest to you and damaging relationships over time that could alter your life.  Nonetheless, you need to accept this or begin searching for another job because harboring all this resentment will only deepen and follow you home, if you let this crabby mood continue. 

Redirect bad energy into other things that need done helps.

Maybe your husband or boyfriend forgot your birthday or something else important to you when you always remembered his.  Your first inclination might be to rip into him for his negligence and make him feel guilty, which as the injured party, you feel have every right to do.  However, what are you accomplishing by demeaning him?  Wouldn’t it be better for your relationship to talk and express your feelings openly instead of jumping to conclusions on why he purposely hurt you like that?  After all, there could be a legitimate reason he forgot that he had no control over.  Even if he did forget “your” birthday, we all make mistakes.  Let go of that pent-in anger and forgive because it is in the past unless you want that resentment to fester in you and grow.

The point that I am making is finding the cause of your sudden bad mood is the first step to improving a bad disposition.  You can change your mood once you understand why it is making you feel that way.

Channel Bad Energy Productively to Your Advantage 

Anger and frustration can overwhelm the best of us at times.  Yet, it gets us nowhere to dwell on our problems.  On the other hand, physical energy directed at what you have to do anyway such as cleaning, errands, bill paying, etc. can distract your mind and give it a break from the current situation.  Sometimes, the best solutions come to an open mind instead of a stressed one where the answer can't come through.  

Give Yourself a Break 

When you’re in your least most likeable moods, do take time to watch a movie, read a book, play a game, start a puzzle where you can stay silent and concentrate on nothing but that activity.  Your mind can retreat from the problems and have more time to recoup without accidentally doing or saying  what you really didn't mean to say from your heart.

Did you ever hear the song, "Smile" (though your heart is breaking) by Nat King Cole?  You may not feel able to smile, but forcing a smile at times can help generate a real one and others that respond positively to that smile.  This will help salvage a bad mood better than continued nastiness any day.