How does my mood affect my decisions?

How does my mood affect my decisions? I love this TED talk by Lisa Feldman Barrett, about the power that mood has. Your mood can affect what you see and hear, as well as our other senses. Being hungry or tired affects how pleasant and calm we feel, which are part of what scientists call effect.

Our effect, or mood, influences whether we like people and how we react to situations. Our body isn’t great at interpreting these signals, so we are largely unaware of our body sensations. We find it hard to tell if we are hungry or tired, and just feel in a bad mood instead.

We can learn to use our mood as a source of wisdom though. If we feel ourselves triggered by a deeply held belief, we can choose to step back from the feeling, and open our minds to listen to different points of view. We can use it to question, for example, our road rage, to find other answers. We can take a deep breath, to create enough space to transform our certainty into curiosity. This allows us time to consider other, more constructive options.

Of course, it is much easier to be curious slightly earlier, rather than in the heat of the moment. Taking time to think before going into difficult situations can help with this. This can help us make wiser choices, that can improve our lives.

Project 365

I set up this website after deciding that I want to build a more creative life for myself, so I can give up my job and be in control of my own destiny.

I have set myself a goal of publishing an article on my website every day this year, to document my journey from employment to self-employment.

The name I chose was Project 365 because I see this as a year that I have dedicated to learning and self-development, as I countdown to freedom. It started on 1st January 2021, so I have 264 days to go!