What constitutes as a good day for you? What elements need to be in place in order for you to be satisfied with the days events? Have you ever taken the time to analyse it so that when a really good day occurs you have the presence to see it for what it is?
Today I had a really good day. No special event happened, I didn’t win anything, no lucky serendipitous incidence ensued, in fact I worked all day, by myself, with no chance for a break out side my place of work but I finished the day feeling really happy.
Let me back up a bit and tell you what I need to have happen in order for me to feel good about a day because there are several factors that need to be present for this to occur.
- Creativity This element is probably the most important. When I have the ability to flex my creative muscle I am in my element. One thought leads to another and before I know it, not only do I achieve copious amounts of work, but time flies by as well. Have you ever had the experience where you are so inspired and involved with what you are doing that you are shocked when you finally do come up for air only to realize that several hours have passed? You are in the zone.
- Ease of Speech Some days thought patterns do not come out from my mouth with the proper words as intended . My mords get wixed, I mean my words get mixed and verbal diarrhea ensues. Or a comment that should have been an innocent statement gets misconstrued by the recipient. But during a good day, I am a silver tongue devil; charming, witty and quick with a joke.
- Good Company This could mean time spent with friends in good conversation but for a work day it means good interactions with my customers. I love when interesting people cross my path and thought provoking dialogue incurs.
- An Ability to Make a Difference I don’t have to single handily save the world each and every day to feel I’ve made a difference but what I do try to do each and every day is when I have an interaction with another person, I make it my goal to have that person leave me with at least a smile on there face.
For me when these four elements are in place, no matter what my tasks for the day might be, I am assured of having a good day. It’s as simple as that.
I work part-time at an independent Vintage retail store on the main street of my cities downtown district. I have worked retail for more years than I care to count, mostly in malls for chain stores where there are polices and procedures that must be followed. This is not the first independent business that I have worked for but it is the first time that I have worked downtown and it has been very enlightening for me.
When people shop where they must go in and out of free standing establishments they tend to slow down and take more time in each store. Having a client truly browse and shop allows me, as a sales clerk, more time to interact with them in such a way that meaningful connections can be made. I actually get a chance to get to know my customers even if they never come back in to the store ever again. It is a deeper connection that we all crave as human beings. A chance to really be seen by another person, to matter, even if it is for only five minutes.
That point was hammered home for me recently when a young women came into the store that I would describe as rough around the edges. She was wearing some interesting ornaments on her person. By ornaments I mean Christmas ornaments. I was struck by the creativity of it all and struck up a conversation with her about some of the pieces she was wearing. We had a pleasant conversation and few laughs and as she went to leave, I thanked her for coming in and she turned and said to me, “Thank you for speaking to me.”
Well that floored me. I thought, how easy is it to add a bright spot to someone else’s day by just making a simple human to human connection with them. Then I realized that in todays busy, technological world how rare this kind of communication is really becoming.
As for today, not only did I have great synergy with all my customers where the conversations where interesting and the charm and wit flowed from my mouth like thick maple syrup over pancakes, sweet and with substance, but I also got the chance to really be creative with the merchandise and left the store looking perked up from after the abuse of last months holiday rush.
When I left for home this evening, I felt that I had made a difference. All four factors where in place, the stars aligned just right and I felt energized from my accomplishments. In my books, that’s a good day.