My son had a bowl of Mini Wheats this morning, and he was absolutely off the wall. My kind, gentle soul of a child turned into a raving lunatic within minutes.

Now Mini Wheats are certainly a somewhat-nutritious breakfast, but one of its ingredients apparently did not agree with his little system. I believe the culprit was artificial colouring (we’ve begun to notice this trend with a variety of foods).

The thing is that this was not very difficult detective work: food in, beast unleashed.

But as adults, we have so many more layers of complexity: when you’re feeling a little off during the day, is it because of that conflict with your co-worker? Is it because you have a thousand impossible deadlines to meet? Or is it simply because you had Mini Wheats for breakfast?

The truth is that what affects our emotional and physical balance is multifactoral: lots of different pieces of the puzzle adding up to the whole picture.

But some pieces are bigger than others, and carry more weight on our sense of well-being or dis-ease.

So when you’re doing your detective work, experiment on all levels: have the difficult conversation you need to have. Go to bed instead of watching that last movie. Learn some better time-management skills. Forego the Mini Wheats tomorrow morning.

Experiment and identify the big pieces of your puzzle. Keep a journal and record your foods, activities, energy levels, and moods – and see what themes arise. You may be surprised at how one simple change can have a domino-effect on the rest of your life!