Someone says, “Have a Good One.” How do you respond?

This Phrase has become one of the most common nonsensical, meaningless phrases. It is almost as bad as misusing the word ‘LIKE’ in the early 2000s. I am curious how often you use the phrase yourself. Just this morning, while walking my dog, I ran across several people walking their children to school and spoke with many of them. As we finished our 1 to 2 minute conversations, each time, the parting phrase was “Have a good…”.

Last week, I counted the number of times that someone said to me, “Have a good one” and it was 107 times. Have we become a society of quick one-off phrases that, in many cases, are meaningless?

In the right situation (not every time) when someone says, have a good one, I will reply with, “I don’t want to.” You should see their faces when I do that. They are truly stunned. I then reply with my quote, “Good days are for average people. Why do we want to have a good day?” The person then smiles and acknowledges my comment. In some cases, they get it and they change their attitude almost immediately. The funny part is that, after a short conversation and we part ways, they say “Have a good one.” I quickly remind them and we get another laugh.

What do you do when someone says this? Do you respond with “You too.” or perhaps just “Thanks.” I am curious.

Let me give each of you a challenge. For one week, count the number of times you hear and the number of times you say “Have a good…”. Then, the following week, replace that statement with one of the following:

• Have an awesome day
• Make it a terrific day
• Have an amazing day

If you really want to change the mindset do what I recommend in my book, ONE Team – ONE Dream, “Make it a…:

• Magnificent Monday
• Terrific Tuesday
• Wonderful Wednesday
• Thriving Thursday
• Fantastic or Fabulous Friday
• Superlative Saturday
• Sensational Sunday

By doing something somewhat silly, corny, and, most of all different, you will likely change the mindset and attitude of the person you are speaking with. When we do this, we change mindsets one person at a time – and a side bar benefit is that you will feel better yourself.

The post It’s Time to Stop Using Meaningless Phrases appeared first on TEAMSROCK.