“Have a good day!” vs. “Make it a great day!”

Subtle difference? Not at all, especially when I think of the person I learned if from, Larry GiIligan, pictured above.

Larry was Gibbons Middle School Vice Principal in Westborough, MA, and used to sign off his morning announcements to students and staff with “Make it a good day!” Larry was a highly skilled, smart, compassionate school leader and role model man – and much more, whose clear-eyed wisdom, gutsy toughness and contagious love-for-life are clearly evident in the picture above taken when he was well on the way to a terminal outcome after being diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in the early 2000’s. 

As Larry explained regarding his quote, “have” is passive, “make” is active, and that “make” confers ownership on the receiver a self-empowerment tool. I changed “good” to “great” to raise the bar – all with a smile. Our lives are so fleeting, why not shoot for “great” as a mark for the best we can do all the time: meeting our work or personal responsibilities, how we prepare and enjoy what we eat, moving our bodies, being with friends, family or even difficult people, sleeping – even doing the dishes or taking out the trash – all with unburdened (aka, smiling) attentive focus and intent. 

Thanks very much for your powerful line, Larry! I think of you every time I express say it.

To you on the other side of these words, I hope you made this a great read!