Have a great day
Still on the 'travel' theme, we've just come back from a trip to America.
It's fascinating discovering how our English-speaking neighbours, just across the Atlantic, do things in some ways so similar and in others so differently to us in the UK.
One habit many Americans have is to close any conversation with "Have a great day!" This can be really endearing, particularly when said by someone who seems to take a real interest in you and when accompanied by a smile. The UK still has much to learn from the US about customer service - on many occasions we experienced the really polite, interested and friendly help that makes any transaction so much more enjoyable and personal.
I also read a few American newspapers whilst I was away. One reported some recent research about how to feel good. I forget the detail of much of the article, but it concluded by reporting on new evidence that the act of simply smiling can actually make us feel better.
This backs up something that's been known for some while. That if you want to improve how you feel, acting 'as if' can actually help you become like that. For example, if you want to improve your confidence in meeting a new group of people, simply pretending to be confident in those situations can have the desired effect.
Back to the research about smiling, one of the reasons it works could be to do with the fact that if you smile, it can be contagious, and you'll find those around you smile more too. And of course our bodies are well used to connecting the act of smiling with feeling good - so by smiling we're tricking ourselves that we feel good, even though we may not have started out that way.
Worth a try? Why not?
Have a great day!
It's fascinating discovering how our English-speaking neighbours, just across the Atlantic, do things in some ways so similar and in others so differently to us in the UK.
One habit many Americans have is to close any conversation with "Have a great day!" This can be really endearing, particularly when said by someone who seems to take a real interest in you and when accompanied by a smile. The UK still has much to learn from the US about customer service - on many occasions we experienced the really polite, interested and friendly help that makes any transaction so much more enjoyable and personal.
I also read a few American newspapers whilst I was away. One reported some recent research about how to feel good. I forget the detail of much of the article, but it concluded by reporting on new evidence that the act of simply smiling can actually make us feel better.
This backs up something that's been known for some while. That if you want to improve how you feel, acting 'as if' can actually help you become like that. For example, if you want to improve your confidence in meeting a new group of people, simply pretending to be confident in those situations can have the desired effect.
Back to the research about smiling, one of the reasons it works could be to do with the fact that if you smile, it can be contagious, and you'll find those around you smile more too. And of course our bodies are well used to connecting the act of smiling with feeling good - so by smiling we're tricking ourselves that we feel good, even though we may not have started out that way.
Worth a try? Why not?
Have a great day!
posted by Elizabeth Juffs at 1:16 PM
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