As a child, I learned how to read people’s subtleties such as facial expressions and body language.  This has served me throughout the years, especially as a yoga teacher.  I also used to be very susceptible to other people’s moods, which didn’t generally serve me.  The effect of both of these resulted in me being easily impacted by those around me — and usually not in a good way.

It wasn’t until maybe five or six years ago that I learned how to (most of the time) prevent someone’s cranky energy from infusing into my personal psyche. 

I also learned not to take things personally (thank you, Four Agreements book by Don Miguel Ruiz!), which has been immensely helpful in keeping my mood towards the happier side of the spectrum.

As I began to understand how to keep an energetic barrier, of sorts, in place, it shined a light on the obvious connection of how my moods impact others — which got me to thinking about why I might get in a bad mood in the first place.  Usually it’s due to external circumstances such as being stressed or hangry (hungry + angry).  But I also get snippy when my body is in pain or I’m really tired from not sleeping well.

In connecting these dots, then, we can see how vital to the cause it is for us to be our best versions — not only for ourselves but also for our loved ones, friends, and even people we don’t know.

To break down the obvious:

• If you’re happy, others experience those sunshiny rays.

• If your body feels less cranky, others around you benefit from that.

• If you’re alive, your loved ones are definitely happy about that.

• When you’re stressed, others absolutely feel it.

• When you’re tired, you’re more likely to be short-fused.

• When you’re dehydrated, that can bring on a cranky body and fatigue.

So often we don’t do the things necessary to become our best selves for ourselves (like eating well, exercising, meditating, and getting enough quality sleep).  That’s a topic for another day.  But maybe by remembering that when we’re our most vibrant selves, we have a real positive effect on those we interact with daily.  And those people are usually the ones we love the most in the world.