Smile: the longest word in the dictionary...

...because there's a mile in it.

One of my pet peeves is grumpy people who have a talent for finding the negative in even the most amazing situations. There's a lot of power to be had in being happy. Holding on to a happy moment can transform a dull day into a magical one. So I love being faced with the challenge of a disgruntled so-and-so with the aim of transforming at least the conversation into a positive one. If that creates a domino effect and makes other people happy, there's the bonus.

Yesterday my challenge came in the form of a pub regular. We've just had a refurb at the White Horse in Great Baddow, Chelmsford, and it's being received with a difference of opinion. As most of our clientel are regulars, the changes are being noticed and they either love that the place is brighter, cleaner and fresher or they hate change and want it to be a bit lived-in again.

At about lunchtime yesterday, one of our Carling drinkers commented on one piece of unfinished changes: a light fitting. He questioned why it was left in its condition and argued that it was unsafe. With some electrical training under my belt, I politely refuted his claim with a thorough response and Stig-of-the-Grump was silenced. I left the situation to stew for a couple of minutes whilst I carried on with the daily tasks of making everything look beautiful and shiny before he continued with conversation which took a more positive turn. Rather than finding more to complain about, he asked me what I was planning to do with my life. (It's a simple fact that only a handful of people work in a pub or bar because they eventually want to be managers or specialist bartenders. Whilst the rest of us care about our jobs and are good at it, we're most likely on the hunt for something that will buy us a house eventually rather than just pay the bills.) With many pleasant back-and-forths and an offer to help by giving me a contact, the conversation was transformed from negative and grumpy to positive and happy.

I would regard this conversation as a little win. It's now over 24 hours later and I'm still thinking about it and being happy that it happened. Little successes make the world go round.