Absolutely Bloomin Fabulous

Every time I call one of my longstanding clients, I get an unusual, yet uplifting, answer to one of life’s most mundane and often insincere questions.  I ask him, like everyone does, almost on autopilot, “How are You?"  He always responds “I’M ABSOLUTELY BLOOMIN FABULOUS!” He says it with such zest and authenticity that it genuinely takes you by surprise, and it’s a great tonic.  

So, last week after many years of laughing and joking about it, I asked him why he responds so bombastically and the response was more insightful than I imagined. 

He said, firstly, that it made him personally feel positive, good about himself and reenergised. 

He then said that it also seemed to have a positive impact on everyone whom he came into contact with and regularly sparked conversation (like the one we were having!).  And, as a hands-on Sales Manager himself, this obviously this had a favorable impact as people remembered him. 

But the thing I found most enlightening was when he said, “look, I’ve got my health, food on the table, a roof over my head, a wife and kids who love me, and I live in a Western democracy.  I reckon I’m one of the luckiest 2% of the people in the world alive today." 

He said that every time he found himself seething that he has to wait four minutes to queue to fuel his car or that the Sauvignon Blanc is priced incorrectly in the local shop, he has to reframe his mind to say to himself “if this is the worst thing that’s happening to me at the moment, then I’m a very, very lucky man."  

I wish I could pull it off with his authenticity, but I’m going to try - “I’M ABSOLUTELY BLOOMIN’ FABULOUS!”