Working Out for Better Work Days

During this first week of 2011, I have been really trying to be productive at work, breathe through any over reactions I feel coming on, and generally stay upbeat. Tuesday and most of Wednesday were great. I got a lot accomplished and felt good about the work I was doing. I thought I was off to a good start!

Then yesterday afternoon, I was confronted (...well at least that is how it felt) about a mistake I had made on a BRAND NEW system we are implementing. I had to drop everything (which at the time was another important project) to not only fix the mistake, but also admit out loud that a mistake was made. I really didn't see why that was necessary, but I admitted the mistake (probably more sarcastically then I should have...), said I would fix it, and tried to breathe my way through the situation so I wouldn't cry.

Needless to say, I thought about the incident all day today creating a constant negative playback in my head. Every meeting I was in I felt like I had to be on the defensive so that I wouldn't feel attacked again. In the end, I am afraid that instead of sticking up for myself and speaking my mind, that I came off as rude and abrasive. I think sometimes I'm over compensating for trying not to get emotional (i.e. crying) in difficult situations. Up until recently I never said anything and would just go with the flow. That got me (and my projects) nowhere. However, I'm not sure that my current method is any better.

Even though I was in a terrible mood and really just wanted to go home and curl up in bed, I had to go to a Personal Training session after work that I had already scheduled. (I'll post more about how my butt is getting kicked during these sessions after I've had a few more! So far I'm loving it!)

BUT WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WORK OUT MAKES! For two hours, I was able to just focus on myself and concentrate on the muscles I was training and I was able to get in a great cardio workout while listening to TV and playing on the internet. I swear I was in SUCH a better mood afterward. It was like night and day!

I'm going to try to take this positive feeling into tomorrow and try to get back to where I was at the beginning of the week. I'm also going to try to see if I can figure out a way to practice speaking my mind in a less "snippy" way.

Do any of you have any tips on how to speak your mind in an assertive way without being snippy and/or overemotional? Do you find that working out after a rough day (even when you REALLY don't feel like it) helps turn your mood around?