What Is The Best Day Of Your Life?
Updated: Aug 3, 2020
I am one of those annoyingly optimistic people. I definitely have down days and have been known to become frustrated with situations just like everyone else, but I make a concerted effort to overcome those feelings and work to see the positive in every situation.
It can take me a minute to get my mind right sometimes, but I am serious about keeping myself in a good positive state of being. For the most part, with some exceptions, I am happy, optimistic, and always smiling.
I have a habit of asking people I encounter daily, how their day is going. This is not a mindless polite question for me, I genuinely want to know. I do it not only because I am truly interested in people, but also because, as a passion and purpose coach, I like to hear how people answer.
When I get a negative response, I make an effort to offer some positive words and energy for the person in question and hope that I help make their day a little better.
Yesterday, I asked a technician I encountered getting a soda at my local Circle K, how his day was going. He absolutely beamed when he looked me in the eyes and said, “Ma’am, this is the best day of my life!” I was overjoyed at his positive attitude so I asked “Why today?” His response still makes me want to cry.
He told me, “Every day since I left the military is another best day.” Then he continued by explaining how he spent several years serving in the military and experiencing violence and war. He said, “Every day I wake up alive and with the opportunity to live my life, it is a gift. Which is more than many of my brothers who served have the opportunity to do or say”.
I was visibly emotional from his response as he smiled and walked away from me. I couldn’t muster anything more profound to say than ‘I appreciate you.’
We often complain about small matters and allow ourselves to dwell on things we can’t control. We get in a bad mood because someone cut us off in traffic or we got a bad review at work, but our daily struggles do not compare to what others are experiencing daily.
How amazing this man, after all he has been through, still keeps such an optimistic outlook?
We will never know what he saw, experienced, witnessed or the horror in his memories. But he keeps going. Keeps plugging away with hope and optimism. My heart is so full of appreciation for him that I just had to share my experience. I hope it lifts you up like it did me.