Take It Easy

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

It used to be common for people to end a conversation with someone by saying, “Take it easy,” as though that should be what a person should aspire to do. It was a throwaway statement like answering the question, “How are you,” by saying, “Fine.” No thought went into the answer. It was a reply born of habit that yielded an encouragement to be average. When I think of average, the first synonym that comes to mind is, “mediocre.”

Why would you ever want to encourage someone to be mediocre? Yet millions of people still end conversations every day with this “encouragement” or similar.

I’ve adopted a different ending to my conversations that people have noticed and I hear adopting. I end my conversations by saying, “Be great.” The first time or two people hear it, it startles them. After that, they like it as a guilty pleasure.

As you persevere on the days you don’t feel your best, and understand you have to do it anyway, first ask yourself, “What’s possible now,” and then remind yourself, “Be great.” Allow it to be a beacon to your best self.

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in…