Quietly nestled between Martin Luther King Observance Day and Valentine’s Day, we have a date that often passes unheralded by the general population.  On January 21, 1970, the world’s largest plane, the Boeing 747, made its debut commercial flight.  On January 21, 1980, gold hit a record-high price of $850 an ounce.  See what I mean?

This year, Jan. 21 has been deemed “Get To Know Your Customer Day”.  Even if you are not in a retail job, you can still have fun with this one. The websitewww.dictionary.com defines the word ‘customer’ as follows:

1. a person who purchases goods or services from another, OR

2.  a person one has to deal with:

a tough customer; a cool customer.

If you do happen to be employed by a retail or wholesale establishment, you are no doubt familiar with the cheerful customer, the tough customer, and a variety of other personality types.  It’s not always easy to adhere to the old adage, “The customer is always right”, but that’s the way businesses often operate.

 Think of your body as a large retail shopping mall. It offers a plethora of options for you, the customer, to buy into on an hourly basis. As your brain and psyche stroll through this human mall, they will be tempted with positive as well as negative goods, services and activities. What to choose, where to go?

If you choose the East Wing of the mall, you may encounter food choices that are delicious yet nutritionally empty.  On the West Wing, healthy and equally delicious options are on display. Venture over to the mall’s South Wing and you will be presented with TV binge-watching and napping, while the North Wing has motivation, health and exercise for sale.  Remembering that the customer is always right, know that whatever you choose to bring home from the mall will end up defining you to a certain extent.  It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

This Jan. 21, take the time to get to know yourself, your body’s best customer. Ponder which wing of your mall best defines the path you wish to take, the do-it-yourself project you are striving to complete. The choices are all for sale.  There is even something out there for the tough customer…but I’m betting you are one of the cheerful ones!

Happy Holiday!