MBA1139 How to Get Out of a Bad Mood For The Sake of Your Business

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Your day is going to take a left turn and it's going to derail you from your to do list. It's going to get under your skin and you're going to be fuming. I've had one of those days recently. The problem is, is that when you get into that funk, when you get into that angry mood, it affects your whole business. Everything you do from that point on is going to be affected. Your decisions, your actions, any kind of content that you're going to be creating, whether it's a blog post or a podcast episode or a video, your state of mind will really have an influence on what you do. So in today's show, the first thing we're gonna do Is know how to identify when we're in this state. And then number two, take the steps to get out of this bad mood, consciously knowing that this is not good. We need to change things so we can positively affect our business. They say 90% of business is a mental game, and this is exactly what they're talking about. Knowing how to. How to have control over your brain, your emotions, so you don't do things you regret later. Let's do this together. So let's get into it. Let's get down to business. The other day, I realized that there was an issue with one of our teammates not getting paid properly. A payment transfer just never happened. We had a little bit of problem of one of our payroll systems. All of a sudden the system is asking for all these security checks that they've never asked before now. We eventually solved the problem. We gave all the information that was needed, and the transfer went through. But at that moment on that day, I was furious because I've never paid an employee late, and all the time I've been doing business, it was kind of my badge of honor. I always pay everybody on time or early. Actually, this is the first time it happened, and I didn't really like the feeling. I felt like my reputation was on the line or something. Now, even though I was communicating with our employee and letting them know what's happening, I still didn't like this feeling. I know how important it is to get your money, to get your pay. You have things that are pending. You have to pay your mortgage, your rent, and your expenses. I don't want to put anybody in a bind. So even though it wasn't an extreme delay, to me, a day or two or even three is too much of a delay, and it's not really acceptable in my book. So I was just really angry this was happening. There was nothing really my fault or in my control to do. I just had to follow these, you know, silly procedures that the system required me to do. So I just decided to do them, roll with them, you know, get on the phone with them, make sure that everything is sorted. It got sorted, and the next day everything was fine. But that day, I was really, really angry. I was angry for a few reasons, but I'll get into that later. But the point is, the whole day was sort of ruined. I wasn't able to really be productive. I was in a bad mood. I wasn't able to do my best work. And worse, I think my mood maybe affected other people on my team when I met with them. And I Spoke to them. And that's when I realized, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Something's going on here. This is really bad. I need to make sure I'm in control here. I'm letting my emotions and this incident control and affect my whole business, not to mention my life and my personal life. So, no, not going to happen. I got to take control. So I reverted back to a system that I kind of developed myself in situations like these. And the thing is, you just need to take a time out in the moment. You don't want to take a time out because you're like, I've wasted so much time on this problem in the first place. I don't want to waste any more time trying to solve it or feeling better about it. But it's essential for you to just take 10 minutes. 10 minutes, put yourself in a room, close the door, no distractions, and ask yourself a few questions. And the first question I ask myself when I'm in this situation is, why am I angry? Why am I in this mood? And I need to answer that question. I need to answer myself and say, well, I'm angry, number one, because I let my employee down. And I write that down. I, you know, take note of that. I keep going. What else are you angry about? Well, I'm angry that I wasted, like, three hours this morning trying to sort this problem out, and I'm gonna have to waste some more time in the future because I need to follow up with this company. Okay, that's good. You feel like you're wasting your time. Jot that down. And then lastly, I am angry because I feel like I'm not in control. A sense of not being in control really angers me. You know, I'm doing everything right, and yet something went wrong. So three things are making me, you know, be in this really bad mood and just be very angry. So three things are really making me be in this bad mood and feel this sense of anger that's affecting my work. Okay, now what? Now I want to just be critical of these reasons, and I'm angry. I want to question myself and try to sort of put it in perspective. This really allows me to think outside myself, as if this is not happening to me. And it gives me perspective, and it calms me down and makes me feel so much better, and I regain my senses. So I go to the first reason why I'm angry, that I let my employee down. Well, did I? I have to ask that question. You know, I, you know, explained the situation to the employee. I told him what's going on? If I was in his place, you know, probably I would understand. Hey, this happens sometimes, you know, And I've given him all the information of what I did and what happened, and it's totally not, you know, our fault. It kind of happens sometimes, and it's not such a big deal. It's only a day or two. And, you know, his track record or our track record of paying is very good. So I have no reason to feel bad or distrust. So maybe this idea is all in my head, you know, like, I'm a big disappointment to this person. I broke my perfect record, all that kind of stuff. And it makes me question, hey, maybe you're just making a big deal out of this. Out of nothing, you know, you're really getting angry out of nothing. Second thing is that I feel like it's a waste of time, right, that it's taken so much of my time. And I recognize the fact that, yes, a lot of time was wasted on this thing. And it feels like this is not really productive work. It's not work that's benefiting the company in any way. But then I also remind myself, hey, that's business. Part of business is solving problems. Part of being an entrepreneur is putting out fires from time to time. Now, if that's all you do all day long, then you have a poorly structured business. But sometimes things are going to come up, they're unexpected, and you're just going to have to deal with it. You know, as an entrepreneur, you know, I believe the definition of an entrepreneur is a person that solves problems. You solve problems for your customers, you solve problems for your employees. You solve. That's what you do. That's your skill set. So you shouldn't get upset that sometimes you have to waste, quote, unquote, your time on this, because this is really part of the job description. Surprises are going to be a standard thing in your life, and it's the thing you can rely on, change. So, yes, it was a lot of time spent on this, but that's just part of the gig. And then last, I fell out of control because I did everything I could do, but something still went wrong. Well, guess what? You're not in control ever. There's a lot of things out of your control. All you could do is try your best. And that's just the reality. You just saw the reality, you know, face on in this situation. But the reality is, is that most of what you do in business is out of your control. You can't make people buy you can't make people interested in your company. You can try your best. You can't make people work for you. You can make it appealing and, you know, interview well and all that stuff. But hey, at the end of the day, it's somebody else's decision. And sometimes things are going to happen in your business that they're out of your control. And the more you accept that and get used to that, the better you're going to become as an entrepreneur. Having that mini conversation with myself and really dissecting why I'm angry and really being critical of those reasons and really just dissecting them really helps calm me down and make me realize, hey, I need to take control of this situation and don't let my emotions in the moment kind of take over because it could bleed over. It could take a couple of days to get over if I don't take control. And I already kind of let half the day be seized by those feelings and bad moods. So I really am glad that I kicked in, you know, into gear with this solution or with this procedure. So here's the steps you're gonna take the next time you get in this really bad mood that's affecting your work. Number one, get yourself in a room and ask yourself three questions. No distractions, just you and a piece of paper. First question, what's making you angry? Right. Specifically, what's making you angry? Number two, question, those things are making you angry. You know, question those things, be critical, be contrarian. Try to, you know, have an opposing argument. Maybe it's not that bad. And lastly, understand this is the nature of being an entrepreneur. A good analogy is like, if I owned a car dealership, right? I sold cars for a living. I wouldn't get angry if somebody came to me and said, hey, my car's carburetor is not working. I need a new carburetor. I'm not going to freak out and be like, what? The carburetor's not. This is ridiculous. This is horrible. No, I'm not going to do that, right? Because I understand the nature of my business is that I'm going to sell new cars, and sometimes they're going to have to come to me. I'm going to fix some things. They're going to be some problems. I'm going to have to fix them for them. And that's how I run my life and run my business. Now, that sounds like a silly example, because of course cars break down. You need to fix them. But so does business and so does life. And you need to be flexible and understand that. And that's a reminder for me first and foremost. And then to you, dear McDonald's, your breakfast menu fire tens across the board. I could be happy with anything, even though I ordered the same thing every time. Thanks for not judging me. I'll try something new next time. Maybe score a two for five dollar deal on a sausage McMuffin with egg and more. Limited time only. Price and participation may vary. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Single item at regular price. Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter? Right. And the best part, they accept Discover. Except Discover in a little place like this? I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah. Huh? Discover's accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby, get with the times. Right? So we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report. One of the best ways to make sure that when you do get in that bad mood, to get out of it as soon as possible is to reflect on the effect it has on you and your business. If you just kind of let yourself revel in the anger and just let it kind of run its course until whatever day or two goes by and you never reflect on, you know, the damage you're doing to yourself, to your health, to the health of the people around you, to your team. You know, when you're in a bad mood, it really, really resonates across everybody you speak to. Even in a remote company where you have remote players, it's totally, totally infectious. So you want to make sure you recognize the fact that, wow, this is really affecting my business and my team in a negative way. When you do reflect on that, you immediately want to spring into action. You're like, okay, this is not good. I gotta change gears here. This is not who I should be. Yes, something really bad happened or really frustrating happened, but I gotta move on. I gotta keep moving forward. I gotta take control and not let my emotions take control. If you can master this, this is gonna help you throughout your whole career as an entrepreneur. It's an amazing skill set to add to your emotional intelligence. Thank you so much for listening to the $100 MBA show. Don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss a single episode. Tomorrow is Q and A Wednesday where I answer a question from one of you, one of our listeners. If you have a question you want to ask, I would love to answer it right here on the show. Just email me@omar mba.net. that's it for me today, guys. But before I go, I want to leave you with this. If there was one word I would use to describe entrepreneurship, it would be challenging. It's just a challenge all the time. A challenge because you're growing. You're trying to grow your team, you're trying to grow your business, you're trying to make more money, you're trying to be more profitable. You're trying to create better products and services. You're constantly stretching yourself. You're constantly pushing yourself to the limit. And one of the things I realized in my career as an entrepreneur is that the more I improve personally, the more my business improves, it has a direct impact. So these soft skills we talk about sometimes on the show, they have such a strong impact on the success of your whole business. You're the leader. You're the one who steers the ship. Even if you make a slight improvement in the right direction, in the long run, your trajectory is going to be massive. If I'm flying a plane from London to New York and I change my trajectory, if I just point my plane just a few degrees north, I'll end up in Canada, not New York. So a slight change over time will have a tremendous effect. So keep making these small tweaks and changes within yourself, and you'll thank me later. All right, I'll check you in tomorrow's episode. I'll see you then. Take care. We heard you. Nine years of bring back the snack wrap and you've won. But maybe you should have asked for more. Say hello to the hot honey snack wrap. Now you've really won. Go to McDonald's and get it while you cat.