"Don't count the days, make your days count."

Live life to the fullest and enjoy the way you spend your time. It’s not unreasonable to believe that we all deserve happiness in our lives.  In fact, I think it’s a human right.

Let’s try something. let’s reverse the order of the clauses. Make the days count, don’t count the days. Did that change the meaning at all for you?  It sounds like more of a challenge, like an approach to life rather than a suggestion.  It seems more actionable to, like it is a tangible concept that can be pursued rather than an abstract thought.

Why does that work? It’s because with the reverse order we are no longer starting the quote with a negative statement. Our minds get defensive when we are introduced to something negative, and the way we perceive that message shifts to accommodate for being defensive.   

Well, that’s where positivity co In life. In life, we are surrounded by similar but more subtle examples of this. We can choose to default to negativity or we can elect to default to positivity. The events and circumstances around us might be out of our control, but the way we perceive those events is not. We can see things in a positive light or go on living on defense.

So, as great as the quote we all know and love is, I prefer to change the order to, "make the days count, don’t count the days".