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HAPPY
4
Learn to live
with your moods
Did you wake up smiling or snarling
this morning? Jot down your feelings
and begin plotting your "mood cycle"
a chart to smoother sailing in life
By FRANK P. THOMAS
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Midafternoon is a good time to rate your
self. Be candid in your self-analysis. Don't
record how you think you should feel, but
how you really feel. And don't compare your
self with the previous day. Try asking your
self: "How's my sense of humor?" . . . "Did
I sleep well last night?" . . . "Am I interested
in what I am doing?" Dr. Hersey suggests
men rate themselves for at least six months,
women for a year. Don't expect your cycle to
span precisely the same period. It can vary
as much as a week either way.
How are you feeling today? That's not a polite,
meaningless question this time. The answer,
plus answers in the days to come, can help you
chart a happier, better-adjusted life.
Dr. Rexford B. Hersey, a University of Pennsyl
vania psychologist who for years has investigated
the emotional ups and downs of workers for large
corporations, has discovered a "mood cycle" which
is as inevitable in each of us as the changing tides of
the ocean.
For example, if you're feeling like an unloved
child in the big, cold world, take heart; in three or
four weeks, your depression blues will have faded,
and life will take on a rosy hue. These ups and
downs can be charted for each individual in pre
dictable rhythms. Neither the joys nor storms of life
can upset their regular swing for very long.
About 60 percent of the people studied by Dr.
Hersey had a cycle that traveled from one low to
the next in 33 to 35 days. Others ranged from two to
nine weeks.
A breakdown of the average pei-son's cycle might
look like this: one week or more, flying high; two-and-a-half
weeks, pretty chipper; two days, no
complaints: and three or four days, in the dumps.
Probably you've already realized how this dis
covery can help you. If you learn when to expect
your normal ups and downs, you can adjust your
living accordingly. You can learn to ride out the
depressions and make the high spots work more
efficiently for you.
Here are some tips on how to live with your
moods, once you've charted your cycle as explained
in the accompanying chart:
1. Don't let moods worry you. "Moods are
nature's way of winding us up like a clock," Dr.
Hersey explains. "She intends us, if we are to have
a good life, to have our highs counterbalanced by
our lows. The lows are for our protection. It is
during lows that we recharge our batteries."
When you plot your own moods, you will find
that, although we tend to magnify our lows, they
account for only 10 percent of the cycle. Actually
we enjoy life much more than we think and should
remember the long periods of lightheartedness
rather than the short periods of despondency.
2. Take low spirits in your stride. Since gloomy
periods are nature's way of slowing us down to
revitalize us, why not cooperate? One of man's
most time-honored methods of renewing himself is
to pray and visit a house of. worship. Women may
take time out to buy a hat, too. Some men may
spend an evening with "the boys." A warm bath
and soft music may soothe others. In each case,
you'll notice, the person slows down with his emo
tions: he does not fight them and create the inev
itable tensions.
3. When feeling high or low, don't make any
derisions. In our down moods, we tend to magnify
unimportant troubles. On the other hand, the over
confidence of high spirits sometimes leads us to
bold actions we later regret. Obviously, neither
time is good for irrevocable decisions. The long
period between is when your judgment is best
balanced.
4-. Make your cycles work for you. Once you
know what to expect from your emotions, key your
daily routines to their ebb and flow. An insurance
salesman, for example, scheduled his heaviest pros
pect calls for the period when he knew his emotions
were high. During low periods, he confined himself
to the office, catching up on paper work. Result: a
22 percent increase in sales.
Mood cycles can be even more important in per
sonal relationships. Some husbands and wives have
charted their cycles and learned that marriage is
smoother with self-knowledge. The wife who knows
her husband is in the doldrums can facilitate an
upswing with a special meal or by sparing him the
latest household crisis. And when she's moody, he
can brighten her life with dinner out and, say, a
good movie.
5. Remember, others have cycles, too. You're
not the only one who suffers gray days, so why
not be more tolerant of others' foibles? When you
hold back a sharp retort or stinging criticism even
if it's deserved you make life more bearable for
others, and more rewarding for yourself.
Keeping these general suggestions in mind, why
don't you chart your own mood cycle now? You'll
learn a good deal about yourself and the life you
live. And you'll find that you like both much more
than you thought you did.
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COVER:
As Arthur Sarnoff amnsingly illustrates,
some golf enthusiasts have met up with a
pretty impasse and seem as indecisive as
Mother Nature concerning their next move.
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WeeJcly
LEONARO S. DAVIOOW President and Publisher
WALTER C. DREYFUS Vice President
PATRICK E. O'ROURKE Advertising Director
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February 21,1960
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