Welcome to the Very Well Mind podcast. We've interviewed over 100 authors, experts, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, and others to help you learn strategies to care for your mental health.

This episode is hosted by psychotherapist and bestselling author Amy Morin. Now let's get into the episode.

Okay. We're listening to the Friday fix.

Every Friday, I share a quick mental strength strategy that will help fix the thoughts, feelings, and actions that can drain you of the mental strength you need to be your best.

Today, I'm talking about how to get yourself in the best emotional state for whatever task you're about to do. I'll explain why it's important and the steps you can take to make it happen.

Our emotions have a direct impact on our behavior. For example, studies show you should never negotiate when you

feel sad. If you do, you aren't likely to walk away with the best deal possible. Here's why. Let's say

you're selling a car. Someone makes an offer on your car, but it's much lower than your asking price.

If you feel sad, you're likely to accept their offer. Researchers say

this is because you'll be afraid that if you counteroffer, your offer is going to be rejected,

and when you feel sad, you'll likely question your ability to handle one more blow to your ego.

If you're in a good mood, however, you'll be much more likely to make a counteroffer

and you'll trust that you can handle it if your offer isn't accepted.

But getting in the best emotional state isn't just for negotiating.

It's a skill that can help you perform better at just about everything that you're doing.

Let me share an example of how this works in the speaking industry.

In 2015, I gave a TEDx talk.

If you aren't familiar with TEDx talks, they are short talks that are about 15 minutes in length,

and they're given at an event where maybe 10 speakers will share their talk in front of a live audience

throughout the course of a day. The talks are recorded and eventually

share it online. When I gave my talk, we were given times that we had to get miced up backstage.

When my time rolled around, I went backstage and there were three other speakers who were

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