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Vail Daily column: The very best day ever

Michael Norton
Climbing to Success

Whenever I am traveling for business or for pleasure, as I board my flight and am greeted by the flight attendant with a, “Welcome aboard. How are you doing?” my response is always the same: “I am ready for the best flight ever!”

That usually generates a smile from the flight attendant and any of the crew who may be paying attention. And sometimes I can even see a sense of pride as their body language and facial expressions shift.

I like to do the same thing when I am greeted at a restaurant. When a host, hostess or server asks me how I am doing, I respond in a similar way, “I am ready for the best meal ever!” Again, this usually has the staff smiling and feeling proud. And in both situations I will share with you that the customer service I experience is tremendous. This happens because an expectation was established and the people responsible had something to aspire to.



A GREAT WAY TO START YOUR MORNING

The people who have the very best days ever are the people who expect to have the very best day ever. They plan and prepare for happiness and success.

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Now what if we started each day with this same philosophy? I mean what if when we got out of bed and greeted ourselves in the mirror each morning, and we actually asked ourselves how we are doing, and then responded, “I am ready for the best day ever!”



Believe it or not, there are some people who wake up expecting the very worst day possible. They believe that only bad things will happen or situations will be filled with gloom and doom. You see these folks in the coffee shop, in the car next to you as you are stuck in traffic, dropping off their kids at school and anywhere your morning travels might take you. No smiles, kind of terse and grouchy, shoulders slumped and oozing of negativity.

Here is what I found to be the difference: The people who have the very best days ever are the people who expect to have the very best day ever. They plan and prepare for happiness and success. And they go about planning and preparing and setting expectations in different ways.

PLANNING FOR THE DAY YOU WANT

Some people take the time the evening before bed to write out the events and tasks for the next day so that when they wake up they are ready to roll. Others will wake up earlier than anyone else in the home so they can have a cup of coffee and some quiet time, others will read, meditate, pray, work out or participate in a devotional or Bible study before beginning their day. There are many ways an individual can choose to start their day, and the people who experience the greatest joy and success are those that set their expectations around positive outcomes.

The second thing I see people do after setting positive expectations and being grounded in their commitments to staying positive is that they think through any possible barriers to success. They consider situations or people who may intentionally or unintentionally disrupt their journey to having the best day ever. And once they know who or what can possibly go wrong, they have a strategy for dealing with those disruptions so that they remain in control and their “best day ever” goes on as planned.

How about you? How do you like to prepare for, plan and start your day to help make it the very best day ever? I would love to hear all of your thoughts at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we expect to have the best day ever, it really will be a better than good week.

Michael Norton is a strategic consultant, business and personal coach and motivational speaker. He writes a weekly motivational column for the Vail Daily.


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