It can happen in an instant – you’re going about your day, humming along, when BAM – you receive a rude email, have an unpleasant interaction, or get an annoying text – and you start to feel a bad mood coming on.

Bad moods happen. You can’t control everything you hear, see, do and experience throughout the day – but you can control how you react. Here is one simple way to stop a bad mood in its tracks, before it takes hold (and it takes less than one-minute!)

Give yourself a pep talk

I actually just used this method the other day, and I can say it has a 100% success rate: When you start to feel a bad mood creeping on, whether it’s from overwhelm, disappointment, sadness, jealousy, or some other damaging emotion, try giving yourself a one-minute pep talk. First, get yourself somewhere where you can be alone and talk to yourself out-loud. Maybe a bathroom, your car, or an empty room.

Take a deep breath, and then recap (out-loud to yourself) what’s going on in your life, and what’s awesome about it. Verbally speak all the good things that you have in your life right now (without vocalizing any of the bad). It might help to think of this exercise like you’re talking to a relative who you haven’t spoken with in a while: “Everything’s good – I just got a new job that I really like, and I really like my coworkers. I just achieved a big goal and finished my first ever half-marathon last weekend – my body is tired but I’m really proud of myself and grateful that I’m in good physical shape. My significant other and I just went on an awesome date…”

You get the idea. Aim to talk out-loud to yourself for at least one minute straight about all the good things that are going on in your life. If you need somewhere to start, think about what you’re grateful for (as if you were making a gratitude list), and then go from there.

And it’s important that you do this exercise out-loud – that you actually vocalize this positive life recap. It’s one thing to think positive thoughts, but it’s even more powerful to actually choose to speak these words out-loud. 

The words you say have immeasurable power to shape your progress and your potential. Your thoughts are extremely important too – one of the best things you can do for your mental health, productivity, and confidence is cultivate a habit of positive-self-talk – but if you can verbalize this positive self-talk out loud? Even better. 

Simply put: words have power.

Try this exercise the next time you feel yourself getting a little grumpy or negative – you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel after just one minute of positive reinforcement!

Be mindful of how your mood affects others

And whatever you do – resist the urge to spread it around. 

If something makes us mad or upset or hurt, it’s human nature to want to share why “it’s not our fault” for feeling this way – to spread around the things that are bothering us, in hope of getting some sympathy, justification, or support. 

But this can be a poisonous practice for one of two reasons: First, you’re not doing anything to help your own bad mood by spreading it around. In fact, you’re helping it persist by perpetuating the feelings you’re experiencing in other people. And secondly, it’s a selfish move. Just because you’re feeling down doesn’t mean the people around you need to be. Sharing your negativity will never help you feel better.

You can probably think back to a time where you were going about, minding your own business, when someone shared something with you (that they TOTALLY didn’t need to) that triggered negative feelings in yourself. In fact, this is how the majority of bad moods occur in the first place! 

One caveat to this rule is being mindful of who you’re sharing with. If you’re feeling really down and you need to reach out to a friend or loved one for some support, that’s totally different. It’s healthy to turn to trusted relationships in times of struggle. In fact, one of the reasons you may be in a bad mood because you feel isolated, so talking on the phone or in person with a close friend can improve your mood quickly.

But don’t overshare with coworkers, strangers, or colleagues when you’re in a bad mood. Chances are you’ll actually end up feeling worse than you did in the first place! 

Other Quick Ways to Improve Your Mood

Here are some other ways to improve your mood:

• Do something you enjoy: One of the best ways to break out of a negativity or unmotivated rut is to do something you enjoy.
• Exercise: As the saying goes, “you’re only one workout away from a good mood.” There is a proven link between exercise and improved mood and self-esteem. Exercise is one of the most natural and reliable ways to improve your mental health.
• Take a nap: If you’re in a bad mood, and you just can’t shake it, think back to your sleep patterns over the last few days. You may be cranky from being overly tired. When we don’t get enough sleep, it “impacts our thinking, creativity, and especially our general mood.” Prioritize catching up on sleep, or taking a nap.