Kaizan Blog

“I woke up today in a bad mood”

How many times have you heard someone say that? How many times have you said it yourself?

But the fact is people don’t wake up in a bad mood. The bad mood that we think we “woke up with” is a result of the thoughts we allowed ourselves to think just after we got up.

Imagine waking up in the morning and having these thoughts:
“I feel so tired. I don’t think I got enough sleep last night.”
“I can’t believe she said that to me yesterday. I should have said something back.”
“Why can’t I get a good job?”
“Why does my wife treat me so badly?”

Who could possibly be in a good mood after having thoughts like that? And yet, so many of us allow ourselves to think these kinds of “day-destroying” thoughts on a regular basis.

For many of us, the thoughts we allow ourselves to think when we first wake up determine the quality of our day. Notice I say we allow ourselves to think those thoughts. This is an important point:

THOUGHTS DON’T JUST HAPPEN TO US.

There are lots of people walking around out there who think that they are a victim of their thoughts. When a bad thought comes they must entertain it; there is no choice for them. “It’s come out of my mind, it must be mine and I must nurture it”. But that is most definitely not the case.

You always have a choice about the thoughts you think. You are not a victim. You can think thoughts that make you feel good. Or you can obsess about past negative experiences, get nervous about future situations and ruin your day from the moment you wake up. Either path is possible, but always know that you make the choice.

Every single moment, you decide whether you will entertain a positive or a negative thought. It’s when you release control of this decision that you become a victim. When you leave yourself at the mercy of whatever thought pops in to your head, then you have no control over whether you’re going to be in a good mood or a bad mood.

Be aware that this battle occurs every moment of the day, but especially when you first wake up. Being aware will make you more likely to resist negative thoughts and start off your day in the best possible way.