This post is part of the IDC Project. The IDC Project’s mission is for us to take a stand for who we are and what we believe without worrying about what others may think. Read more about the IDC Project here and view completed IDC’s here.
For our most recent IDC project, we answered the common question, “How are you?” by saying, “Great!” for seven days. Not only that, we invited our readers to join us! There were quite a few that signed up and we kept each other accountable and reminded one another of our intended response.
What if we didn’t feel great? No problem. Claudia wrote this post recently which helped and we tried a little perspective on for size. The fact of the matter is, we all have many things to be grateful for. We decided to focus on those for the 7 days.
I must say, the habit of responding to, “How are you?” with “Good” or “Fine” is a tough one to break! At the beginning of the week, many times I responded this way before remembering to say, “Great.”
As the week went on, my record got better and I was less self-conscious too. I did keep thinking people were going to call my bluff when I answered great without truly feeling it. I had to remind myself many times I actually was great, it just depended on my perspective and how I framed it.
Ann Musico, one of the participants, mentioned that she really enjoyed responding this way because it actually helped her to feel better once she said it. I totally agree. It’s quite amazing. You should try it. People won’t think you’re weird, I promise!
Question: How do you normally respond to the common question, “How are you” and why?