This game is about being in-the-moment. Being in-the-moment produces positive emotions. Positive emotions during savoring “create an upward spiral in our experiences, emotions, relationships, mental capacities, etc.,” according to Mirium Ufberg in this article.
Have you ever been around a person for whom so many things feel like a new experience? “This is the first time I’ve seen a flower that color!” Have you ever been around a person who tastes an apple pie with you at a restaurant, and says, “This is the best apple pie I’ve had in the past year!” And doesn’t that somehow feel good? Just that experience that you are with that person when she is tasting the best apple pie of the year. That’s a small example, but suppose someone says to you not only, “you made my day,” but “that’s the most wonderful thing I’ve heard all year.” Or what if you’re speaking with a colleague and he says, “Hey Senia, that’s the first time I’ve ever thought about this work situation that way!”
Being around people when they experience their MOST, BEST, FIRST is envigorating. It’s alive. And as Czsikszentmihalyi says, the question he would most want to ask all the people in the world is, “To what degree do you feel alive?”
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The Most, Best, First GAME
When: At any time – home or work.
How Long to Play: 10 seconds.
Players: Alone, with one person, or with many.
Materials Needed: None.
Goal of the Game: To savor and find those items that are the “most, best, first” experiences for you. Aim for one per day.
Examples:
- “Last week in Milan, I had the most delicious gelato I had ever tasted – caramel flavor!”
- “Today was the first switch-tables-for-each-course dinner networking meeting I’ve ever been to!”
- “This is the best book I’ve read all year!”
- You can even just think it to yourself: “This might be best business advice I’ve ever heard on NPR!”
Recognize when you are with someone (or by yourself) and are experiencing a “most, best, first” moment – say it out loudly, celebrate it. Invite that person to realize how incredible it is for you in that moment. You and that person are making history this day, as Seth Godin describes it. You will look back on this day and say, “Remember when I tried pomegranate tea for the first time?”
This is a fun sounding game! It’s the FUNNEST game I’ve seen all week! Which makes it the BESTEST and the FIRSTEST! Ok, I didn’t really read the rules, but I shall endeavor to engage in this game tomorrow. I really like it :-)
My 5 year old son Julius is a natural at this game. This morning he pulled a couple of leaves out of his pocket and invited me to look at the most amazing leaves in the whole wide world. If you looked closely at the leaves that he found on the ground, they were mainly brown but had green on one side and had a red line through it. Very Beautiful.
Dave: That’s great!!! Talk about being in-the-moment! Works for me. :)
Atlanta: Exactly! That’s exactly what I mean! Thank you for the example. I wonder if a business game down the road should be something like “be child-like today” – it may well be!
Best to you guys! S.