How Are You? Hopefull, You’re Vertical And Breathing

How many times a day do you hear the question, “How are you?” On the average day, I hear it at least four times. Each time I try to respond with a colorful answer. “Good,” “Fine,” “OK” are such blah answers but we always use them. We need to find another way to respond.

Why do people ask “How are you?” Do they really care?

Like a hit and run, people ask and then don’t stick around for the response.

“How are you” can start great conversations, but if the asker is too busy to consider your answer, and doesn’t give you time to think about it, what’s the point?

Think about what would happen if a person had an unusual response such as, “I am having an extremely incredible day.”

Why do we respond “good” when we feel terrible, or “fine” when the day is going great? Do people have a vocabulary problem or just have nothing interesting to say?

Out of 10 people who I asked how they were, eight said “Good.” I wonder if they actually felt stressed, tired, excited or overwhelmed.

Once when I was shopping, a clerk asked me how I was. I looked at him and said, “I’m not sure, let me think for a moment.”

I stash a few responses in my instant memory bank, such as “I am vertical and breathing,” “I’m quite content,” “I am excellent,” or “School pressures are overwhelming me.”

Sure that’s a lot to say to people passing by who might not really care how you are, but they beat the standard “Pretty good” and “OK” responses. People need to stop and listen when they ask, “How are you?” Likewise, those answering should try to find a better way to respond.

So, by the way, “How are you?”

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