We all know that hormones play an important part in our state of mind but it's not something that is much talked about in the self-improvement world. The reason for that is probably due to the fact that the hormonal factor could easily be used as an excuse in a variety of situations to justify a lack of performance.
That's not a good enough reason to stay in the dark about the influence of the hormonal system on our state of mind and overall productivity. People of goodwill don't look for excuses and will use any pertinent information to increase their level of effectiveness.
You don't have to be an endocrinologist to understand that strong emotions will illicit and immediate and powerful response from the glandular system, which in turn will affect the overall body chemistry or physiology. This can easily be seen in the cases of anger, frustration, fear and many other emotions.
The effects of hormonal release due to emotion is immediate and can last for considerable time thus maintaining the corresponding state of mind strong and active. That is the reason why it is so hard to eliminate certain unwanted emotions rapidly.
That phenomenon can easily be seen when you're trying to change the mood of a child who is angry or resentful for no good reason. You will make faces or tell jokes to distract the child and he'll break out laughing for a few instants only to revert to the initial state with fury. At the moment, he's not happy and will resent any efforts to make him feel better.
That is due to the hormonal influences on the brain. When we don't feel good, we don't even want to feel good and any effort by other to make us feel good will only make matters worse.
When faced with such a situation, there are two possible course of action available. We can either let nature follow its course and wait for the hormonal response to wear out or we can perform what is called a "pattern interrupt."
A pattern interrupt is a process that demands an immediate, conscious and active reactive participation. In other words, we need to get totally involved and focused on an entirely different subject.
As an example, there are days when I don't get off on the right side of the bed or when my mood is not all that it should be. When that happens, all that I have to do is go to the gym and get involved in a serious workout and very soon the negative mood changes and I'm back on the right track again.
Pattern interrupts don't have to involve physical activities. It can also be done on the mental plane. What needs to be done is to get involved in something that requires attention and concentration. It can be done through some kind of problem solving, by getting involved in an interesting discussion or even in playing some interesting game.
What is important to remember here is the fact strong emotions provoke a glandular and hormonal reaction that prolongs the unwanted emotion longer than necessary. Not only does it prolong the emotion but also it makes it difficult for us to even try to change that emotion.
When that happens, we are not powerless but we can do something about it. We can provoke a pattern interrupt and change the way that we feel in a matter of minutes. Doing so gives us a wonderful sense of self-mastery, self-control and ultimately self-esteem.
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