Y Talk: Live Each Day Like It’s Friday by Justin Rose

In recent years my interest in human behavior and the relationships we have with each other and the ideas, institutions and things around us has grown stronger. I find myself seeking out new and innovative ways to live my life and effect change in others.

Recently I began to read a book by Joel Osteen entitled “Live Everyday Like a Friday.” If you have read any of my other blogs you will note this is not the first book by Joel Osteen that I have read. I find his writing style fun and relatable. More importantly, Joel’s books often revolve around two main points that I find very interesting: introspection and perspective. Many times these two concepts can have the biggest impact on our relationships, behaviors and success.

As I have made my way through the book I am reminded of how powerful our minds can be and how lucky we are to have the ability to change our perspective in the midst of the most adverse situations. We all know that one person that always seems to be in a good mood, has something nice to say about everyone and finds friends wherever they may go. It’s easy to tell ourselves that they are smarter than us or in better shape or have more money so they don’t have a care in the world. When in fact, they are more like us then we could ever know. The difference is small, but the difference makes a huge impact. The difference is perspective.

CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE

Did you know that on average the human brain remembers negative feelings or experiences at a rate of seven times that of positive feelings or experiences (Tugend, 2012)? There are many psychological and physiological reasons for this but, for the sake of brevity; the main gist is that our minds process negative and positive experiences differently. Essentially, negative experiences require more processing and thinking because they cause discomfort which then in turn creates a more vivid memory.

So how can we change this? As Joel is pointing out in his book, all we need to do is change our perspective. If we were able to take the same attitude that we carry with us on Friday to each day of our lives, what difference would that make? I would argue that each day might feel a little different. We might not let all the small things bother us. We may go out of our way more to help others. We might find the joy in the interactions we have with others. With that I challenge you to live each day like a Friday. Try it for a day, try it for a week, but see if you can make a difference. Keep yourself from remembering the negative and focus on the positive and turn you work week into a long weekend.

-by Justin Rose, Associate Executive Director

Tugend, A. (2012). Praise is fleeting, but brickbats we recall. The New York Times. New York, NY.​