“Write it on your heart that every day is the best one in the year.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Many, many years ago, when my older child was young, we used to play the “start the day over” game.
“You can start the day over at any time,” I would say to my kid, meaning that if things were going poorly, I always had the option to pause and make a decision that I was “starting my day over” by forgetting how things were going poorly and looking forward with a fresh outlook and attitude. My kid, however decided that it always meant pantomiming waking up, getting out of bed, having breakfast, brushing our teeth…you get the idea.
I offer this same idea to my clients, and luckily, they don’t make me pantomime my morning routine with them. But we do have the opportunity – the gift – to metaphorically start over at any moment, just like we have the opportunity – the gift – to decide that each day will be our best day of the year.
I can head into a client session knowing that it will go well and be powerful, or I can forget to do that and let it unfold as it does. I can step into a meeting or a tough conversation envisioning positive outcomes, or I can forget to do that and let it unfold as it does. I can choose to have a good day (potentially over and over if obstacles appear), or I can forget to do that and let it unfold as it does.
We ask our clients to imagine what it would be like if every day was a best day in the year, and then we ask our clients what they need to do to make that best day happen. We ask our clients what they need to do to remember to choose to make each day their best one, and we help them set up prompts during the day that will remind them to keep focusing (or to focus again) on having a best day.
There is so much that is out of our control, but in our leadership and our lives, we can become more intentional about making every day the best day in the year.
How have you been more intentional about having best days? How has that worked for you and what have you learned?
Please leave a comment.
If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
For support in having more best days, contact Robyn at rmcleod@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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