One thing as a teacher (and those of you with children probably understand this too) I learned is that my attitude propelled what kind of mood my class was in. If I was upset or edgy, they would take on some of that and the undercurrent of the class would be edgy. If I was happy, they would get happy, if I was calm, they would calm down. Even if they didn’t come into my class that way, my mood would usually encourage a similar one from them.
Moods are contagious, what we feel can be caught by the people we are around and likewise, we can catch the mood they are in as well. In stressful situations, the first thing someone of authority usually says is “please remain calm” which always intrigued me. I can just picture the captain of the Titanic making an announcement “Good evening everyone, we have just encountered an iceberg and I need you to calmly make your way to the lifeboats, there is no need for panic, please remain calm”. Yeah right sir, we are all sinking and going to drown!
But if you think about it, when something stressful is happening, what do you tell your students? Kids? Coworkers? You tell them to calm down, it will all be fine. That is because chaos is contagious, and it spreads like wildfire. When we are in a chaotic state, our logical thinking process becomes overrun by emotion and the fight or flight instinct.
However, calmness is contagious too. If we stay calm, our logical thinking has a chance to work, our emotional response becomes under control, and we are less motivated to act by instinct. This is not easy, and I would never proclaim that it is, but in moments of stress, stop and think about what you want to be contagious: calm or chaos?
What do you do to encourage the calm versus the chaos?
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