It's all going according to plan!

How are you?
How do you respond when asked that question?

Some people just give a simple response ‘Fine’ or 'Good' and move swiftly on. Minimalists!

Some people don’t bother to reply. They look astounded and surprised at the question. I often think
a) they don't feel they are worthy of someone asking after them,
b) they feel they have too much to say and you’re not really interested in the real answer anyway.

Some people take you on a long journey, giving you every single detail about every single thing that has happened to them since you last saw them. Not minimalists!

My standard response is ‘Fantastic!’ That throws people aback, because they start thinking (wishing even) ‘I want some of what she’s having!’ But I kid you not. I do feel fantastic inside! The gift of life is fantastic and one I am always grateful for. (Do you have any idea how many went to bed last night and did not wake up to see the new day? There’s got to be a reason why I made it to the next day.).

I am one of the ‘half-full glass’ people. I also believe that laughter is extremely essential! I generally look forward to each day. I live the ‘early-to-bed, early-to-rise’ life. I’m always trying to get a laugh out of people I meet (ok, sometimes, that can be really annoying and I apologise!).

I once worked with someone whose response to the ‘How are you?’ question was always ‘It’s all going according to plan.’ I think that’s an equally fantastic answer. Let’s face it - whatever is happening today in our lives is as a result of decisions, choices and plans made in the past.

We can start the day deciding it is going to be a great day – or not. We can start the day believing it is going to be full of obstacles, and you know what – we subconsciously seek the obstacle ridden path to justify our thinking. We can start the day as ‘the-timid-self-deprecating-victim’, and then we spend the whole day putting ourselves in those situations, to justify it.

Simply put, do you want ‘a-bright-sunny-summer’ day or ‘a-cold-bitter-blustery-winter’ day?.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I do have my occasional winter days. (Who doesn’t? My husband can probably write a whole volume about ‘my grumpy moments’!). I just choose not to share my grumpy moments with everyone I meet. Because in my simplicity, I believe I owe it to the people I meet in the course of my day, to be pleasant, polite, kind and well-mannered. (I would expect the same from them).

I also compartmentalise, you see. My grumpiness has nothing to do with them, and I think it is unfair to make them share my grumpiness with me! So, on those days, my answer might not quite be ‘Fantastic’, but I’m pretty sure it will still be something positive.

Because I’ve chosen to 'follow the sun' and not let ‘grumpiness’ detract me from 'the' plan!