I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.
Today’s tip is to notice how positive emotions help you improve your mood.
Over the years I’ve found that the way I view a situation often affects how I feel about it. I get upset, or angry, or sometimes don’t think about anything other than how the situation affects anyone other than me.
Often when I view things differently, I feel differently.
I had planned on going to a user group meeting recently. It was the first in person one, and I was excited. I wanted to see who showed up, and how the organizers ran the event. I let myself get a late start from home and was hungry. I stopped to grab a sandwich, trying to avoid fast food, and ended up waiting a little long. The place was busy, and they were working hard to manage a number of online orders as well as handle the lunch crowd.
I stood there, stressing a bit. All my cushion to get to the meeting was disappearing. I finally got my sandwich, jumped in the car, and race over. I get there to discover that the meeting is next month. I was so excited, I mistook July for June.
I could have been upset, angry, etc. Instead, I laughed at myself a bit and was amused that my excitement for a user group caused the issue. I looked at it as a positive thing. I’m ready for live meetings, and that’s good.