#5: Hold the Awareness, Drop the Funk

Hold the Awareness, Drop the Funk

Tracking your mood is a compassionate practice that bring self-awareness and kindness.

When we track our inner world, we label our moods, our reactions, our energy. We begin to notice patterns. And as we notice patterns, we gain a certain power over our actions, one that allows us to choose differently.

We begin to walk through our day more peacefully.

A familiar mantra becomes more real as you see the changes throughout the day. “This will pass...”

FROM MY OWN LIFE

One morning last week I woke up in a fog.

You know the kind. It was thick, heavy, like moving through mud. I felt irritated, slow, grumpy. My body didn’t want to get out of bed. My thoughts started to ruminate on all my worries. As I turned off my phone alarm, I was tempted to zone out and scroll.

But I caught it.

See, I’ve been practicing tracking my mood throughout the day. It’s nothing complex, just a quiet check-in into my tracking app. But this process has become indispensible.

I logged: “6:30 am. Mood: 4/10. Irritated. Tired. Grumpy. Probably didn’t sleep well. I feel all my worries are flooding in. Rumination.”

That simple act of naming it helped me remember: I didn’t need to stay in that place.

Just because a mood arrives doesn’t mean I have to entertain it all morning.

Instead, I could just watch it, be aware of it, and from that awareness, choose an action that would help move the energy through me.

And I had a good reason to do so: my son.

I needed to wake him up and make breakfast. And I knew from experience that my mood could shape his whole day. That was powerful motivation.

So I dropped the phone. I got up and moved into action. “Just move. Just move. Keep moving,” I said to myself.

I put water to boil for coffee. I laid out my clothes. I took a shower.

(Side note: you know what helps? Cold showers. Every morning I take a 90-second cold shower using a training app called Mental. It’s amazing how that first shock of cold went from something I used to dread to something I choose each morning. Definitely helps me be in the moment! But I’ll write more about that in a future issue.)

For today, what mattered is this: awareness woke me up.

Because I’ve been logging and tracking these inner states for a while now, I recognized the fog. I knew its favorite tricks: rumination, doomscrolling, general discontent.

But instead of going there, I let the mood pass through. I didn’t create a story. I didn’t judge it. I just moved.

Sure enough, within 30 minutes, the fog had lifted. I logged in again:
“7am log: Mood 7/10: Active, peaceful, calm and moving. Better mood already.”

The most powerful moment came when I saw my son emerge from his room. His head down, half asleep, stomping across the room towards the bathroom.

He was clearly in his own funk.

Because I’d just walked through mine, I could see his mood more clearly.

Instead of reacting, I met him with presence.

“Hey, good morning … how do you feel this morning?”

He was in a funk, so he didn’t say much. And neither did I. But I saw him moving.

That moment of connection, just noticing him with presence, allowed me to hold his emotions with empathy instead of trying to fix or ignore them.

Just like my own mood, I knew his would pass, too.

I did my morning yoga while he got ready. Then made breakfast, packed his lunch, and sent him to school … with the love and warmth he deserves.

7:30 a.m. log. Mood 8/10. The funk passed.

THE TAKEAWAY

Mood tracking is a powerful way to witness our emotions passing.

We don’t have to fake positivity. We don’t have to fight the funk. Just watch it. Then allow it to move.

When we notice our moods, we reclaim our agency. We own them, but they do not own us.

When we become aware of our emotions and moods, we can choose to move with more compassion, more patience, more clarity. We can choose to act with purpose, with love … knowing this will pass.

Maybe that’s the real medicine: Not being in a perfect mood, but being perfectly present with whatever’s is passing through right now. 

THE PRACTICE
AWARENESS BEFORE ACTION

Big recommendation: Get yourself a mood tracker and log your emotions as often as possible. If not an app, then use a journal. Or create a mood tracker with the help of ChatGPT.

As often as you can, throughout the day, login a short check-in.

Log: [Time] [Rate your mood 1-10 to put a number on it]

As you log, ask yourself:
“What am I feeling right now? What is my state of mind?”

Just name that emotion. Notice it. Welcome it as a friend.

“Where am I feeling it? Can I feel it passing through me?”

Sit with this emotion for 2 minutes.

Then, ask with curiosity:

“What do I most need in this moment?”

“What else is important for me right now?”
(This is an important question. It gets your mind to shift from the initial ruminating thoughts. When you ask “what else” your mind starts to imagine, it begins to move past the moods and into possibilities.)

Name one small action you can take to move … just move.

Let your answers guide you into more aligned action.

Sometimes what we need is silence. Sometimes it's music, a walk, a stretch, a hug, or a shower.

Let awareness come first.

Your action will follow from the truth of the moment.

And the moods will pass.

Want to go deeper?

If you’ve ever felt that what your partner really needs is your full presence, you’re not alone. This short piece from Psychology Today explores new research showing how simply listening can improve communication, reduce conflict, and strengthen emotional connection in relationships.

Presence isn’t about soft lighting or cozy aesthetics. It’s about showing up, fully and honestly. This Beginner’s Guide to Being Present offers a refreshingly real take on what it means to be present in everyday life.

Thanks for reading.

I’d love to know…

Do you track your moods or energy throughout the day?
Has it helped you notice—or shift?
How has it helped your relationships?

Just reply to this email; I read and feel every response.

Wishing you warmth,
Leo

P.S. If you'd like support cultivating this kind of grounded emotional presence in your life or relationships, feel free to reach out to see if 1:1 coaching can help.

Just reply or email [email protected] for more details.

HELD: In presence, in love, in truth.