Understanding Moods: Navigating The Ebbs and Flows of Inner Experience
What’s Your Mood Telling You Today?
Picture this: You wake up feeling heavy, like you’re dragging an invisible weight. There’s no obvious reason – no argument last night, no looming deadline – yet everything feels… off.
You try to shake it off, distract yourself, repeat positive affirmations, or power through, but the fog lingers. It’s as though you’ve wandered into murky waters, unable to see the shore.
Moods like these are familiar to all of us, yet they remain one of life’s great mysteries. What causes them? Why do they sometimes pass quickly while other times they anchor us in place? Most importantly, how do we navigate these emotional ebbs and flows with greater ease?
The Nature of Moods
Moods are distinct from fleeting emotions, acting more like the weather – a background state that shapes our experience of life. While emotions arise moment-to-moment based on how we interact with the world, moods emerge subtly and reflect our overall inner state. Importantly, from an Energy-Flow Coaching perspective, moods aren’t caused directly by external events but by how we internally process and respond to our environment, shaped by:
- Our Interaction with the Environment
Our emotions and moods are created by how we interpret and interact with what’s happening around us, not by the events themselves. For instance, two people could experience the same situation – like a challenging conversation – but their unconscious inner narratives, beliefs, and conditioning will influence how they feel about it. - Unresolved Past Conditioning
Our personal history – unprocessed emotions, childhood traumas and narratives, and habitual thought patterns – often shapes how we respond to the present. These influences act like filters, colouring our perception of what’s happening now and amplifying certain moods. - Physiological State
While moods are created internally, they are still deeply connected to the body. Poor sleep, nutrition, how we move, our environment, or chronic emotional stress can shift our internal environment, making us more reactive or disconnected from our natural state of balance. - Narratives and Thought Patterns
The stories we tell ourselves about who we are and how the world works have a powerful effect on our moods. Persistent patterns of self-criticism, rumination, or catastrophizing create inner turbulence, reinforcing prolonged emotional states.
Breaking the Habit of Judging Moods
Here’s the challenge: most of us view moods as something we need to fix or imposed upon us by outside forces. We believe things like, “Work is making me feel awful”, or “This weather is putting me in a bad mood”. This thinking reinforces the idea that our well-being is at the mercy of circumstances we can’t control.
But what if we reframed this? What if moods weren’t something to fix, avoid, or blame on external events? Instead, they could be seen as signals, guiding us to pay closer attention to our inner world. By understanding that moods are internally created, we unlock the power to navigate them with curiosity and self-compassion.
A New Way to Navigate Moods
I recently heard from a colleague who shared a powerful story about being stuck in a prolonged mood. She described it as feeling trapped in murky waters, unable to identify what was wrong. “It was like an anchor was holding me there,” she said, “and nothing I tried – distraction, action, or even rationalising – worked.”
Eventually, she took a different approach. Instead of resisting the mood or trying to fix it, she allowed herself to experience it fully without judgment, feeling deeper into it. She realised that the mood was not who she was, but rather something passing through her – a transient experience. By recognising that she was more than the mood, she could transcend it, stepping back and seeing it from a higher perspective.
From this vantage point, she gave herself permission to observe the tangled threads of her thoughts and feelings with compassion, without needing to resolve everything at once. Slowly, clarity emerged as she began to untangle the ball of wool, giving space to each part of herself that needed attention.
What she discovered was profound:
- Moods often arise when we are ignoring or suppressing parts of ourselves that need attention.
- Resisting or trying to ‘fix’ a mood creates tension, often making it last longer.
- When we allow ourselves to transcend the mood – recognising we are more than the experience – it opens the door to clarity, ease, and a higher perspective.
The Gift of Moods
Moods, while challenging, are messengers. They reveal the deeper workings of our mind-body-consciousness system, signalling when something needs attention. When we learn to listen – without judgment or resistance – they can guide us back to balance.
Imagine treating your mood not as a problem to solve but as a friend trying to tell you something important. What might you learn about yourself?
Reflection for You
The next time you find yourself in a mood, ask yourself:
- What might this mood be asking me to notice?
- What happens if I stop trying to ‘fix’ it and simply sit with it?
- How can I support myself with kindness during this time?
Join the Conversation
What’s your relationship with your moods? Have you ever experienced a moment of clarity by leaning into the discomfort?
To download our MindMap on Understanding Mood – click here
Until next time,
Kyle