Good Mood Revolution
Igniting the Power of Conscious Happiness
Based on O’Neill’s weekly podcast of the same name, the exercise-filled self-help book Good Mood Revolution is an extended coaching session on achieving lasting joy.
Matt O’Neill’s approachable self-help book Good Mood Revolution tackles the ladder of bad and good moods on the climb to long-lasting peace and happiness.
The book’s Progression of Moods framework separates eight good moods, including peace, joy, and love, from eight bad ones, including anger, pride, and fear. The bad moods are said to be ruled by the selfish ego, while the good are said to be ruled by intentionality. The better a person understands the effects of good and bad moods on their overall well-being, the book argues, the more able they are to use those moods to their advantage: “It is only with the contrast of bad moods that you can know the true meaning of joy.”
Based on O’Neill’s weekly podcast of the same name, the book takes a conversational and direct tone. The sixteen moods are its foundation, with the text separated into two parts based on bad moods and good moods. Each chapter focuses on a single mood. Anecdotes, as about a father’s upbringing, numerous miscarriages within a family, and choosing love first are used to bolster understandings of each mood:
Contemplating losing a dear loved one can open your heart in a way few other things can. You realize that your petty fights are so unimportant, and you finally recognize that nothing but love matters to you.
Exercises in healing run throughout. There’s guidance on trying to understand a hurtful person’s own past hurts and for considering how past traumas change how a person thinks about themselves. In discussing acceptance, the book reframes hard times as learning experiences, for example. Elsewhere, audiences are encouraged to list “I” statements (I am bad, I am unlovable) and imagine saying the same to a five-year-old. Space is left for answers to the book’s questions, while a section of lined pages at the back of the book results in a workbook quality.
References to well-known self-help gurus and teachers, including Eckhart Tolle and the Dalai Lama, are present sans appeals to more substantial psychological texts. Further, pervasive references to God, prayer, and blessings narrow the book’s audience to believers. Still, the book’s explorations of moods is edifying and thorough.
A brief, appealing self-help book, Good Mood Revolution focuses on the personal choices that lead to lasting happiness or the lack thereof.
Reviewed by
Ashley Holstrom
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
