Have you ever had one of those days, where everything just went right? It’s like you were on a snowball of success and as the day went on, it just kept getting better and better, to the point where you couldn’t believe that this was happening to you.
I’ve had those days too and I often wondered how those days came about.
Looking back through my journal of daily observations and thoughts, I tried to find common themes, underlying catalysts, and actions I took that attributed to all the great days I had written down.
Below are my findings.
#1. Have a good night’s sleep and wake up early.
Every single good day I had was when I had a good night’s sleep and woke up early.
It wasn’t when I got up 30 minutes after the alarm rang, showered for 30 seconds, put on the first thing I grabbed in the closet, threw some gel on my hair, downed half a glass of OJ, stuffed a bagel in my mouth and raced out the door.
Nope. It was always when I woke up early and refreshed.
Because I woke up early, I was able to breathe in the cool crisp morning air, see the sun rise with all its glory, listen to the serene silence of the world sleeping, be alone with my thoughts, and have some extra time to spend. What did I do with this precious time?
I decided to have a great day.
#2 DECIDE to have a GREAT day!
The good days you have are not drawn randomly every year or so. They are all up to you. You decide whether you will set sail toward “Good Day” or “Bad Day” or “I Guess It’ll be an Ok Day”.
By deciding you are going to have a great day, you “pre-program” your mind to interpret the events that happen to you in a positive light. Always remember that events have no meaning except the one you give it.
How you interpret events in your life is a very powerful weapon you possess.
Unfortunately, a lot of people use it against themselves in a negative fashion.
If it’s all up to you (which it is), why not decide the best things for yourself?
Decide to have a GREAT day! What will make your day even better?…
#3 Be truly thankful for what you have.
I’ve also taken the extra alone time that comes to waking up early to think of the things I am grateful for. I’m grateful:
to be living in a country where I don’t have to run to a bomb shelter whenever sirens turn on.
to be in a relatively healthy state of body and mind.
to have a loving family that is very supporting and nurturing.
to have close friends I can rely on anytime.
to have hot running water, clothes to put on, food for my stomach, and clean water to drink.
to have the privilege to be able to help people all around the world through this site.
to have the ability to learn
to have the education to read
to have the ability to think
to have the opportunity today to be a better man than I was yesterday
Gratitude will always help us remember that there are more important things out there than money. It will make you feel “rich” in a non monetary sense, which in turn will add to your true happiness.
Now that you feel blessed, it’s time to…
#4 Plan your day out.
Decide what you are going to accomplish today, whether it is work related or personal, and write it down. Make a simple list.
Plan to draft that proposal, to send that email, to clean out the desk, to organize your computer, to pick up the dry cleaning, to rent that movie, etc. Plan your full day out.
You will find that when you do, you’ll feel more in control of the day and know what you want to accomplish. Studies have shown that your self esteem is directly correlated to having a sense of control in your life, so make the list and seize the day and the confidence. Another thing you can do to help accomplish the tasks on your list is to…
#5 Visualize how you want the day to go.
After you’ve planned your day out, just sit back and visualize it. Just see yourself doing the things you’ve planned and see yourself doing it well. See yourself giving an awesome presentation. See yourself drafting that proposal. See yourself organizing your desk and computer.
Visualization is a powerful tool to use. I will write more on that on a future article, but know that visualization is instrumental in helping you accomplish the things you want.
Olympic athletes use this all the time in training. Football coaches instruct their players to do this. They have a different term though; they call it “skull practice”. NASA uses it frequently to train their astronauts as well. If it works for them, it’ll work for you. You can also use your eyes to….
#6 Read something inspirational.
Pick up that last self help book you bought and read a chapter. Browse your favorite self improvement blog hint hint 
in the morning to get your boost of mental protein for the day. Read some motivating quotes and inspirational biographies. One of my favorites is Teddy Roosevelt. That guy had a LOT of GREAT DAYS.
The mind is most susceptible to influence in the morning so feed it some rich mental protein and inspire it to spark the fuel and ignite the human spark plug. After using your eyes, you can use your hands to…
#7 Blast that music.
You know what music I’m talking about. That feel-good music that just makes you want to dance and sing like nobody’s watching.
Strut your stuff to Bee Gee’s Stayin Alive, dance to the swing music of The Big Band, and do the twist.
Put on that inspirational music that makes you want to go for it. Chariots of Fire by John Williams or The Olympic Fanfare.
Put on U2, because after all, it is a beautiful day. You can’t go wrong with Frank Sinatra when you’ve got the world on a string, and you certainly can’t go wrong Tom Jones, because it’s not unusual.
Music is a great mood influencer. Use it to your advantage. And don’t forget to…
#8 Exercise.
I always exercised in the beginning of every good day I had. I jogged to the gym, lifted weights, and jogged back home. I distinctly remember doing this because I was always looking forward to showering off all my sweat and grime.
What exercise does, as I’m sure you’re fully aware, is that it produces endorphins in your body. These are the natural drugs that make you feel really good. No drug can compare to the endorphin rush you get after you exercise.
After you exercise, go turn on that hot water and…
#9 Sing in the shower.
Sing as loud as you want. Your voice always sounds good in the shower. Yes, grab that shampoo bottle and pretend it’s a mike. You just won American Idol. Sing to the American people.
Singing always makes you feel good.
Singing, music, and dancing is like a universal language that permeates all human beings and touches us on a deeper level that cannot be articulated.
You can’t stay in there forever so it’s time to hop out of the shower and..
#10 Put on your best clothes.
Everybody has some clothes they own that when they put on, they feel they are THE MAN (or woman). There’s no denying that when you know you look good, you feel good. A majority of the good days I had was when I was wearing my best clothes. It certainly doesn’t hurt to do so. Now go style your hair. Shave your face. Trim the nose hair and off to the kitchen you go to…
#11 Eat a hearty breakfast.
Treat yourself to some cereal with sliced fruit, a bagel with spinach cream cheese, some sausage links, and a glass of OJ and eat it slowly. Savor the milk. Savor the juice. Savor the morsels of fresh fruit, grain, vegetables, meat and bread in your mouth. Just sit quietly and eat. Don’t read the newspaper or multi task; leave your stomach at ease and just focus on eating and most importantly of all….
#12 Don’t turn on the TV.
The last thing you need messing up your happy flow is the latest crime to hit the streets while you were sleeping. TV is always full of bad news. To tell you the truth, I don’t even watch it anymore. You can live without Katie and Matt for a day. Now that you’ve finished your breakfast, time to brush your teeth and head out the door to…
#13 Greet everyone you see with a big smile.
Greet your elderly neighbor who just woke up to pick the newspaper with a big Hello and a smile from ear to ear. The transformation on their face from groggy morning to pleasant surprise will make you laugh and smile even more.
Ask
Ask how they are. Don’t just ask for the sake of asking. Really ask and when you do…
Truly Listen
Don’t do the “hi how are you” and just walk by. Stop. Ask. Truly listen to what they have to say. Take the time to chit chat and then exit the conversation gracefully.
Wave goodbye at his beaming face as you back out the driveway.
Now before you order your latte from Starbucks, greet the cashier behind the counter by his name and ask him how it’s going. You’ll find his face transform from “I’m so tired and sleepy and bored out of my mind and I hate my job” to “Wow, somebody who doesn’t bark their orders at me? This guy is something else!”
Ask him how his shift is going. Listen and sympathize with the morning rush. Order your drink and say “Thank you sir.” You’ve just made his day and I guarantee you that he will remember you the next time you come.
Do the same thing when you get to work. Greet your co workers with a big smile, ask, truly listen, and show appreciation.
You will find that what everybody really wants is to be noticed, to be truly listened to, and to be truly appreciated.
The best part is that all of this can be done for free. No amount of money in the world can pay for these things. And no amount of money in the world can measure the effect it has on people when it is done on them.
Now that you’re at work…
#14. Go above and beyond the call of duty
Take pride in your work. Do more than necessary. Go the extra mile. Offer to take on more responsibility.
If you achieve all this, you will find yourself in:
The snowball effect.
If you start off the day early, expecting a great day, getting yourself in a great mood, and spreading it to others, you’ll find that things will only get better for you as the day goes by. I can’t really get into the specifics of how it will be better because the benefits will be different for each person.
I guarantee, if you expect a great day, get yourself in a great mood, and spread it to others, you’ll have a GREAT DAY period.
But why stop at having just one great day? Why not have a couple of great days? Why not have several great days in a row?
If you habituate this process, you can do just that!
Let’s look at the steps listed above again.
#1. Have a good night’s sleep and wake up early.
#2 DECIDE to have a GREAT day!
#3 Be truly thankful for what you have.
#4 Plan your day out.
#5 Visualize how you want the day to go.
#6 Read something inspirational.
#7 Blast that music.
#8 Exercise.
#9 Sing in the shower.
#10 Put on your best clothes.
#11 Eat a hearty breakfast
#12 Don’t turn on the TV
#13 Greet everyone you see with a big smile.
Ask
Truly listen
Appreciate
#14. Go above and beyond the call of duty.
If you do this everyday, you’re going to have more quality sleep, more time in the morning, become even more grateful and appreciative of your life, get a ton of things done, become more inspired, become a better dancer and singer, become more healthy, more optimistic, have more quality relationships, and further your career.
Imagine all the great days to come if you do this everyday.
I can attest to all the benefits above (except for the dancing and singing ). The actions you take each day truly add up to even more great days.
You don’t need to follow the routine listed above. These are just recommendations that have worked for me. You can craft your own routine that will put you in a great mood and will put others in a great mood as well.
When you feel great, and you make others feel great, your day will just be plain great.
You just have to see for yourself.
