5 ways to beat a bad mood

You wake up on the wrong side of the bed and spend the rest of the day in a downward spiral – slamming doors, blaring your car horn and snapping at everyone in sight. While we all feel cranky, irritable and angry sometimes, persistent bad moods aren’t healthy for you or anyone around you. Fortunately, it’s often not that hard to get out of a funk.

"While we may not be able to control bad-mood triggers, we can control how we respond to them," says Tanya Geisler, a life and business coach in Toronto. "It’s all a matter of intention. Once you choose to have a fun, easy or stress-free day, you can make it happen." Here’s how to give that bad mood the boot.

Trigger 1
Your alarm didn’t go off, you’re running late for work and there’s no milk for your coffee – grr! You know you shouldn’t be sweating the small stuff, but you’re too far into meltdown mode to care.

• Plan for a good morning
Think of something you can do to get your day off to a good start and try to incorporate it into your morning routine. For Carol Costello, a busy MRI technologist and mother of two, it’s her 5:30 a.m. fitness walk with a friend. "It’s my chance to blow off steam, have some girl time and still get in a workout before the business of the day begins," she says. "I don’t think I’d be as patient with everyone if I didn’t get that me time."

• Apply the rule of 10
Ask yourself whether all those little irritants and hassles that feel important right now are really going to matter in 10 minutes, 10 months or 10 years, advises Geisler. "It’s a really quick way to pull yourself out of the immediacy of the moment and gain some perspective."