Project Mood Curve2023-06-07T15:06:32+00:00

Developing Perseverance and Perspective

Project Mood Curve:

Persevering through difficulty is a mandatory requirement for getting There.
The Project Mood Curve describes the PATH between HERE and THERE. Our journey between where we are and where we are going will inevitably follow this curve. The mood curve shows our opportunity, power, and reason for perseverance during our journey.
An image describing the up and down shape and the four stages of the mood curve, which we explore below.

The Mood Curve is inescapable

Nothing is immune to the Mood Curve. Every human relationship, project, and organization travels along this PATH. The only difference between one PATH and another is the depth of the “pit of despair” that must be navigated. You don’t get to choose the circumstances or the depth of the pit, but you can choose to own the 3 things you can control within it. It is important to understand that the Project Mood Curve can be experienced both in individual undertakings, and in a team dynamic.

There are five phases to the mood curve:

1. Forming

We begin a project or a relationship with hopes and expectations for its success and its effect on us. Since we have so many options to choose from, we only get involved in a venture if we think we will benefit from it. Every new thing goes through this “honeymoon phase”––relationships, jobs, projects.

2. Storming

However, the honeymoon phase never lasts. Reality never lives up to our hopes and expectations. So, we enter the “storming” phase (also known as the pit of despair). Now that the honeymoon phase is over, unexpected conflict and challenges emerge.

Though we try to avoid this phase, we have to go through it. In fact, it proves useful for growing closer to those around us and achieving our vision. We grow much closer to those in our organization because of the intensity of the challenges that we face together in the pit.

The pit is not just to be endured, but valued––we are refined by fire. When we’re in the pit, we only have two choices: quit or persevere.

3. Quitting

At the decision point, we can either quit or keep going. When we quit, it’s for one of two reasons: we’ve decided that the pains of the challenges outweigh our THERE or we believe that encountering difficulties is in and of itself a failure.

Sometimes, quitting is the right choice. When we quit, we can choose a better objective. However, we have to keep in mind that if we quit, we start over at the forming phase.

If we choose to quit, we have another choice to make. Will we choose to view quitting as an opportunity to reset and start a better objective? Or will we view quitting as failure, deciding that we are worthless and should not try anything else.

4. Norming

If we persevere, we enter the norming stage. We have learned from the pit. Now, we are in the process of resolving conflict, building trust, and growing, individually and as a team.

5. Performing

In the performing stage, we succeed in ways that exceed the future we imagined in the forming stage. We have learned and adapted throughout the process of the mood curve, refining our vision and goals to meet reality and serve purpose.

Unfortunately, the performing stage doesn’t last forever. We recycle through the mood curve as challenges and new goals arrive, reaching higher and higher, as we continue to serve our THERE.

Mood Curve Misnomers

LIE: Everyone will be in the same zone at the same time in a team/relationship dynamic.
TRUTH: Our curves will all look different, even when we are walking down the same path together. Unity is not conformity – our individual values, beliefs and perspectives will highly influence our Mood Curve experience.

LIE: Quitting is never a good thing.
TRUTH: While we need to learn commitment and how to persevere through difficult things, quitting is not always a bad thing. We need to make sure we are on the right path, and that the THERE we are pursuing aligns with our values.

LIE: Choosing to stay in the pit will keep you from quitting.
TRUTH: Choosing to stay in the pit is the same as quitting. There is no place on the Mood Curve where you can set up camp, you will constantly be moving through the curve, and a refusal to do so is the equivalent of quitting. Your new project may be apathy or a “refusal” to do anything, but even that endeavor will follow The Mood Curve.

LIE: Performing is the final destination and the place worth living for.
TRUTH: Life is full of ups and downs. As we learn, grow, and succeed, our potential for output gets higher and our pit is less deep. But The Mood Curve continues and recycles, always in motion.

Mood curve examples

Joey and Kylie started dating and felt the usual butterflies. They dreamed of happily ever after and how a life together would meet all the expectations each had (some subconscious) for marriage. After some time, they start to argue about toothpaste brands and the direction the toilet paper hangs on the rolls. They get on each other’s nerves and enter into conflict. As they persevere, they figure out how to work through conflict, manage their expectations, and live in unity (developing intimacy in the process). As the years progress, they discover a meaningful and life-giving marriage beyond their initial fantasies.

Six coworkers are assigned a project at work. They each hope to impress the boss and one another, maybe earning a raise and some kudos. As the work begins, they encounter obstacles and fight the urge to blame one another, afraid the project is going to fail. After an emotional argument between three members, they recommit and come together around the project goal, they discover and lean on each other’s unique strengths. They trust more and begin to see results.

Annabel wants to run a marathon. She dreams of crossing the line, the feeling of accomplishment, and being in great shape. As she trains, the first day or two are exciting, she’s doing it! A couple days later, she is struggling to make her goals, out of breath on the runs, and fearful she won’t make the race. As she continues to get up and try, she gains endurance and confidence and learns how to push herself. When she finally crosses the finish line, the feeling of accomplishment is increased by the work she endured.

Jonathon decides he is going to work hard and make partner by the time he is forty. He dreams of the financial stability for his family and the adventurous traveling he can do. As he pushes himself, the work hours mount and he is being asked to do more and more, at the cost of time with his wife and two children. The family has an argument where his wife says, “You don’t even know your kids!” Jonathan evaluates if his goal truly aligns with his values. Are financial goals more important than his children having a father that is present? He decides to quit his goal and commits to a new endeavor, one that allows him to be a more active presence in the life of his kids.
Where are you on the Mood Curve right now? How committed are you to the vision? How sure are you that it aligns with your values? Think about a recent project or undertaking you have been involved in. Using the image below, chart your own Mood Curve. What do you notice about it?
A blank graph to chart your own project mood curve
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MOOD CURVE

The path of all of our human endeavors follows the same basic shape. From the fall of expectations to the development of intimacy, the journey tests our commitment to our vision and gives us the opportunity to learn perseverance through difficulty. There are no shortcuts. The shape of The Mood Curve is a reality for us to acknowledge and navigate as effectively as possible.

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Awareness of our HERE can motivate us and help us to move towards our THERE. The Project Mood Curve is a tool that can help us to define our current reality, and give us hope through the hard times.

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