Here is something from Ted Nicholas’ newsletter The Success Margin:
I love this. We are constantly programming ourselves with the words we use. Our subconciuce mind believes what we tell it. If you tell it we aren’t doing well it believes it. If we tell it we are doing “Better” or “Great” it will live up to that.
– I’ve been better
– Not bad
– Do you really want to know?
– How much time do you have?
– Fair to middlin’
– So-so
– I’m O.K.
– Comme ci, comme ca
Often such replies are just bad habits. So, here is my normal reply and what I recommend to you. When people ask, “Ted, how are you?”, I say:
“Better and better!”