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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to find ways to lift your loved

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Speaker 1: one's moods. Everyone feels down sometimes, and knowing your family

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Speaker 1: members and friends pick me ups equips you to help

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Speaker 1: them feel better. Who wants to wait out a low

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Speaker 1: mood when a little boost from a companion can help

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Speaker 1: lift it. Even during a festive season, we can't all

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Speaker 1: walk around wearing smiles. Seven. Everyone has times of sadness,

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Speaker 1: and sometimes it's wise to feel our emotions rather than

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Speaker 1: covering them up. But there's a difference between covering up

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Speaker 1: emotions and actively working to change them. I've been talking

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Speaker 1: a lot lately about the idea that happiness takes work.

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Speaker 1: Hopefully you know your own pick me ups for when

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Speaker 1: you're feeling down. Maybe it's a call with a friend,

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Speaker 1: a walk outdoors, a manicure, cooking or eating something delicious.

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Speaker 1: Looking at a photo of you and your siblings when

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Speaker 1: you were kids. There are so many ways people can

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Speaker 1: reliably lift their moods. Knowing your own lifts is an

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Speaker 1: important life skill. Knowing how your family and friends can

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Speaker 1: feel better is incredibly powerful too, so you can nudge

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Speaker 1: them to engage in those activities that will lift their spirits.

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Speaker 1: The first step to exercising this superpower is knowing what works.

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Speaker 1: One easy way to find out is just to ask

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Speaker 1: if someone you love is in a funk. You could

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Speaker 1: say what would help you feel better today or what

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Speaker 1: would lift your spirits. Sometimes people won't know, so feel

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Speaker 1: free to suggest common mood boosters or sources of comfort.

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Speaker 1: Would you like to go for a walk outside, either

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Speaker 1: with me or so lo? Why don't you go play

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Speaker 1: video games for a while? Can I make you a

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Speaker 1: cup of coffee? Gently invite the person to participate in

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Speaker 1: something that might help them feel a little better. Then

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Speaker 1: pay attention to what feels right to them. You can

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Speaker 1: even record what the people your closest too crave when

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Speaker 1: they want to feel comforted or cheered, perhaps in the

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Speaker 1: note section of your contacts app. Then the next time

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Speaker 1: someone you love feels low, you can make a suggestion

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Speaker 1: tailored to what feels good to that person. In particular,

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Speaker 1: I think you'd feel a lot better if you went

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Speaker 1: for a trail run for the next hour. I can

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Speaker 1: take the kids until you're done, Or why don't you

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Speaker 1: call Lisa, she always cheers you up. What you suggest

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Speaker 1: may be just what they need to boost their mood,

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Speaker 1: and your thoughtful suggestion itself may make them feel seen

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Speaker 1: and cared for. If you have kids, help them recognize

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Speaker 1: what lifts their own moods so they are empowered to

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Speaker 1: help themselves feel better. Independently, you can say, I've noticed

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Speaker 1: that sometimes when you're feeling down, you feel better after

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Speaker 1: you've done something physical. Want to go outside and shoot

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Speaker 1: some baskets? Or sometimes people feel more relaxed after a

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Speaker 1: hot shower. Would that be helpful to you right now.

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Speaker 1: This way, you're helping your kids lift their mood in

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Speaker 1: the moment and also equipping them to do so themselves

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Speaker 1: in the future. If the person lives farther away, I'll

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Speaker 1: put in a pitch here for sending things that put

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Speaker 1: a smile on most people's faces cookie bouquets, flowers. You

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Speaker 1: can work wonders with a card that says you are

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Speaker 1: thinking of someone and recalling a funny memory or a

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Speaker 1: time that person was at her best. Someone who lives

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Speaker 1: relatively nearby might also be happy to get soothing foods

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Speaker 1: like casseroles or soups. There is a long tradition of

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Speaker 1: dropping off dishes for people who need their spirits lifted,

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Speaker 1: So no need to reinvent the wheel here. Your enchiladas

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Speaker 1: will be appreciated. We all feel lowsometimes, and we can't

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Speaker 1: and shouldn't try to avoid that. But when we pay

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Speaker 1: attention to how our loved ones are feeling and to

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Speaker 1: what might lift their spirits, we are able to help

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Speaker 1: each other thrive. So how do you help your loved

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Speaker 1: ones get through low moments? You can let me know

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Speaker 1: at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime,

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Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number four,

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Speaker 1: then break fist p o D. You can also shoot

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Speaker 1: me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart

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Speaker 1: Media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with

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Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to

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Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I

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Speaker 1: Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit

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Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you

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Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.