I have always felt things have a way of just working out. Being optimistic lends a hand in maintaining this attitude so I haven’t given much thought about purposefully increasing my happiness. In this first intervention, I have experienced a better mood more often and I find that I have a higher degree of functioning in daily life.

With my first mood increasing activity I decided to analyze an activity I have been doing since October. I have been walking everyday for two miles and doing yoga 3 times a week. I initially started this with the goal of improved health and weight loss. In the past week and a half I have been specifically paying attention to any mental benefits of exercising and seeing if my mood has been lifted at all.

I took a mental note of how I felt before I exercised. Frequently because I had just finished work I felt worn and tired when I started. This fact really emphasized the contrast between how I felt at the beginning of my workout and how I felt at the end. I have found that my mood is much better after exercising and I feel more energized both mentally and physically.

Aside from the short term boost to energy and mood, there are long term benefits as well. As I have lost weight I find that I have more self esteem and it’s easier to complete physical tasks. Upon realizing how much benefit I was getting from daily exercise I have been trying to encourage both friends and family. I plan to continue improving my life with exercise and if I become discouraged from any decrease in progress towards weight loss, I can remind myself about the mental benefits.

Upon reflection, I decided to use music as a method to lift my mood. The times when I experience the most stress are at work. I now listen to some classical music while I work and I have had some interesting results not only for myself but for a few others.

I have found that when I am listening to the music my mood almost instantly improves. On the days when I don’t start any music when I arrive at work, I find myself becoming tenser and “stressed out”. When I can remember (which is most of the time), I turn the music on and I feel my body and mind relaxing almost immediately.

Because I am not as stressed, I have been a lot more calm and productive. This in turn has been influencing others at my workplace. I am able to be more aware of others around me and their needs. I find I have been able to accomplish more with fewer mistakes. I have been more open to suggestions and because I don’t feel in a rush, work has become a more relaxing place.

At one point, I had been making mistakes at work. I felt like others and my boss were watching everything I did and being very critical of me. I had been ruminating on these errors and was entertaining the idea that I would lose my job and, as a result, my house.

In order to address my negative thinking I used fact-based reasoning in conjunction with previous performance feedback from my superiors (feedback which was very positive) to stop my negative thoughts. By objectively looking at my thought patterns I realized that my anxiety was creating resentment that expressed itself passive aggressively and I was able to change my behavior.

As a result of working on changing how I manage my negative thoughts, I am experiencing more open and comfortable communication with my boss and coworkers.

Because I was able to identify what was going on in my head I was able to talk with my boss and address some of my misperceptions. By doing this we have created an ongoing dialog and my ideas are now being heard with what I perceive as a new receptivity.

During this last week an argument occurred between my spouse and I. Frequently I become tense and stressed when we argue, my body often reacts as if I am being attacked. We decided to put the argument on hold and did our yoga and found that we resolved the issue with very little difficulty afterwards.

Doing yoga enabled us to use controlled breathing and focused our thoughts and lead to more open communication. My physiological state was relaxed allowing me to focus on the issue rather then focusing on how to protect myself. This allowed me to experience an atmosphere that lent itself to quick, painless resolution.

Overall, our first class activity on improving self-regulation has been a beneficial one. By seeking to improve my mood I have been able to increase my emotional resilience towards negative experiences. Changing my thinking not only improved my mood but gave me a greater measure of satisfaction with work. One of the most valuable concepts I’m taking away from this exercise is that having strategies for self-regulation grants me some new choices for pursuing a more satisfying life.

Gemeinschafsgefuhl: “Do Unto Others”

 

I grew up in a family that did a lot of volunteer work. Often a weekend spent helping chop wood, clean yards, or other manual labor activities was common. When I was younger I resented the fact that I had to work without any reward but now that I am an adult my view has changed significantly.

I was excited about doing this activity because I haven’t volunteered lately due to time constraints. I entertained grandiose ideas about the positive change I would bring to others and the difference I would make. Because I set my sights so high, I found that as time went on I still hadn’t done the activity. An opportunity came to me from a friend who needed assistance moving so I decided to help.

To my dismay, as I walked into the house, I found about 5 boxes packed and a whole lot more stuff that hadn’t been touched. Having committed to helping him I couldn’t very well back out, so I made the best of the situation and started packing boxes. Once I started the project, I found that my initial displeasure gradually changed into a sense of determination. My mood improved and I started joking as a way to make the situation more fun.

The whole experience didn’t last more then about 4 hours and I can say the benefits I received will last a lot longer. Helping him finish his goal of getting moved gave me a sense of accomplishment. I feel that our friendship has been strengthened and upon reflection I am happy that I was able to help.

Assisting others can be a great way to make myself feel happy. One of the unexpected aspects of helping others has been the emergence of a desire to help just to feel good. It seems strange that at times I almost feel selfish for how good I feel. In any case, for a while I allowed my time to be taken up with projects and forgot the good feeling that I can get by helping others. This exercise has been a refreshing reminder of how nice it can be to aid another who genuinely benefits from it even if I am not “saving the world”.

edited for formating Monday, 1/28/08.