Psychology for Living
Gwen Randall-Young Written October 9, 2006
Have a Good Day
If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one.
~Cavett Robert
“Have a good day!” This phrase is one that is repeated over and over in our culture. Well, did you have a good day? We tend to respond positively to that question if things went well, or, at least, if nothing went wrong. We do not usually think we have control over whether our day will be good or not, because, anything can happen.
The reality is that life is full of challenges. Whether you are a stay-at-home Mom or the head of a corporation, sooner or later something will go sideways. If we only say it is a good day when everything is right, we will not be having very many good days.
Perhaps we need to rethink the notion of a good day. There are things we can do to make every day a good day, for it is all in our perspective. Generally we say it is a bad day when one or two things go wrong. We are simply focusing on those one or two things, and calling the whole day bad. If we looked at all the things that were right, our attitude, and consequently our mood, would be more positive.
When we hear the phrase, “have a good day,” we can let it serve as a reminder that the quality of our day really is in our control. Even if bad things do happen, we can be proud of the way we handled them, how we rebounded, and how we did not let them ruin our whole day. Now go and have a good day!
Gwen Randall-Young is an author and Registered Psychologist in private practice. She is the recipient of the Psychologist's Association of Alberta John G. Paterson award (2003) for excellence in portraying psychological knowledge to the public. Visit her website www.gwen.ca or contact her directly: gwendall@shaw.ca Books and CDS available online.
