"How to Bat a Thousand. For Life."

"Nate," he said, "I'm having the best day in the history of the world."

Wow, I would think. It can't get any better than that. And then I'd move on.

For weeks, every time I greeted him Bob's answer would be the same.

I'm having the best day in the history of the world.

At first I thought Bob was just being funny. He was in his sixties so no doubt he had plenty of practice telling dad jokes to his kids and grandkids.

Then it dawned on me that he was serious. He really was having the best day in the history of the world.

Every. Single. Day.

But look, my inner skeptic said, nobody can have that kind of record.

By way of analogy, the best professional baseballers have career batting averages in the .300s.

And Bob? Well, he was batting a thousand.

So I asked him, "How can you say every time I ask that you're having the best day in the history of the world?"

His answer?

"Because I married the right girl."

Ok, so Bob wasn't saying he never had problems. But when compared to the infinite value he placed on his relationship with his wife all other considerations fell out of the equation.

Subtract any number from infinity and what do you have left?

Infinity.

That's perspective. That's taking the ultimate long view of things.

To paraphrase the immortal song: Bob always had sunshine on cloudy days. When it was cold outside, for Bob it was the month of May.

Someone once said that there's no circumstance so bad that complaining about it can't make it worse.

It's cliché to say that attitude is everything. But it's true.

In fact, attitude is the only thing.

Lacking knowledge or skills? These things can be taught.

Got a bad attitude? That one falls squarely on our individual shoulders. It's up to us to fix it.

So be like Bob. Have yourself the best day in the history of the world!

What do you do to keep things in perspective and have a great attitude in spite of challenges?

I'd love to hear from you in the comments!