It is almost automatic; you leave a restaurant, a doctor's appointment or a store, and you tell someone, "Have a good day!” This habit is ingrained in us from a young age. However, most of us do not realize that there is a better way to tell someone to have a good day, and it is simply done by removing the word “good” from the original sentence.
Recently, I have come across an abundance of social media posts encouraging people to use the wording “have a day.” My dad also uses this saying often, and I personally find the concept to be a great one. The entire idea is that when we tell someone to have a good day we are essentially telling him or her that their day should be good because that is what is viewed as positive. However, not every day is a “good” day. In fact, what makes a good day “good?” Instead, when you tell someone to have a day you bind them to no requirements, you simply send them along their way to experience what lies ahead.
Life is tough and sometimes we are struggling, and it's hard to think that the day that lies ahead will be anything close to a good day. Whether your daily struggles are with mental or physical health, money troubles, family issues or maybe you are just having one of those days when you put your pants on backwards and drop your Starbucks, when you hold the expectation that your day must be good in order to feel important or measure up to others, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. As the saying goes, “Expectations are the root of all heartache.”
We live in a society filled with comparison and pressure to be perfect. Social media access on our phones puts everyone’s highlight reels at our fingertips. Advertising companies bombard us with unrealistic expectations. Everywhere we look there is something to tell us that we are simply not doing “good” enough.
So, today I challenge you to stop this cycle in one of the simplest ways. It may sound trivial to change such a mindless habit, but it can make a difference. Make an effort to tell others to have a day. Tell yourself to have a day. Let go of your expectations and the pressure you place on yourself. Just see what the day brings. You might be surprised at how your day turns out after all.
