I was talking to my colleague and friend, Bill, several
weeks ago. By now, I can’t even remember
what he said that prompted my all too familiar, over-worked response – “It’s
all good.”
There’s something about this slang phrase that really
appeals to me. It’s positive, upbeat and
fun. It sounds cool. And, depending on the situation, it can even
strike a note of forgiveness, kindness or generosity of thought.
Back to my conversation with Bill….This time, my “It’s
all good” response was met with an atypical reaction. Bill came back with, “No, it’s not” in a
strong, matter-of-fact tone of voice. He
went on to explain that he had come to dislike that phrase and that he was on a
mission to challenge it every time he heard it!
He felt that it was simply too much – used too frequently and too
casually without any thought. And, as a
superlative, it usually wasn’t even true.
After all, rarely is EVERYTHING good.
He was campaigning for the use of an alternate phrase – It’s Mostly Good
– and he invited me to join him in getting the message out.
At first, I was amused by the conversation. But, as it turned out, it was thought
provoking and I really like challenging
my same old same old habits. I’ve
concluded that Bill is on to something. I
realized that I was one of those people who used that phrase way too often and
without intention or mindfulness. I was
on autopilot. I know (and you probably
do too) that if you want to be a highly effective, great communicator, then
you’ve got to be choiceful about your word selection. Every interaction. Every conversation. And because highly effective communication is
directly linked to peak performance, outstanding teams, goal achievement, and
well, just about everything that we all want, we should ALL be fanatically
focused on being world class communicators.
Yes, I’ve joined Bill’s campaign. Now, from time to time, I say, “It’s Mostly
Good.” I’m selective. I pick the right moment for the comment. It’s more authentic. It makes me stop and
think for a moment. I’m not on autopilot. And, best of all, it makes the person to whom
I’m talking take notice and stop and think.
It’s thought provoking (and you know I love this), it starts a
conversation about intentionality and the importance of clear
communication. It’s all good. (Oops, I
mean it’s mostly good!)
