Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to invite people into your world. Let the
Speaker 1: people you love see your life in all its fullness,
Speaker 1: and you will all feel much closer. And Ada Calhoun's
Speaker 1: book of essays about marriage called Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give,
Speaker 1: She describes how when her son and his friends are
Speaker 1: playing Minecraft, they ask each other, do you want to
Speaker 1: come into my world? You can play Minecraft independently, but
Speaker 1: you can also invite friends to join you in your
Speaker 1: world so that you can play together and show what
Speaker 1: you've created. If you think about it, do you want
Speaker 1: to come into my world? Is a lovely invitation for
Speaker 1: many non Minecraft occasions. Hearing her son invite his friends
Speaker 1: into his Minecraft world prompted Calhoun to reflect on how
Speaker 1: hard it is, in marriage and other relationships to truly
Speaker 1: see and understand other people's worlds. For spouses, friends, parents
Speaker 1: and children, teachers and students, businesses and customers, and so forth,
Speaker 1: it is so important and so hard to truly understand
Speaker 1: the other person's perspective, and yet we all want to
Speaker 1: be seen and understood, so invite the people you love
Speaker 1: into your world. Tell your partner about what it was
Speaker 1: like for you to go to a reading by your
Speaker 1: favorite poet, even if you know he has no interest
Speaker 1: in poetry, because he is interested in you. Take your
Speaker 1: kids to your college reunion so that they can see
Speaker 1: a place that was formative to you and can meet
Speaker 1: your old friends. Even if your work best friend doesn't
Speaker 1: have kids herself, tell her about how you've finally built
Speaker 1: a good kid bedtime routine. She will likely value the
Speaker 1: window into your life and cheer you on in this success.
Speaker 1: If your workplace hosts take our daughters and sons to workday,
Speaker 1: well take your daughters and sons to work. Let them
Speaker 1: see what you do and who you're with when you
Speaker 1: are not with them. By inviting other people to join
Speaker 1: in your experiences, or by describing your experiences to them,
Speaker 1: you can welcome them into your world. Now, of course,
Speaker 1: this process shouldn't go only in one direction. You should
Speaker 1: let other people invite you into their worlds too. Make
Speaker 1: it easy for them. Listen, ask questions, observe. Don't assume
Speaker 1: that another person's experience and perspective are the same as yours.
Speaker 1: Ask your spouse if you can join him for a
Speaker 1: hike on Saturday, even if that's not necessarily your thing.
Speaker 1: If your mother in law plays trivia every week, accompany
Speaker 1: her on occasion. See if you can understand what makes
Speaker 1: her enjoy it and get to know her a little
Speaker 1: better in the process. If your daughter loves acting, ask
Speaker 1: her what it's like for her to perform in front
Speaker 1: of a theater full of people. Invite her to tell
Speaker 1: you about the process of preparing for a new role.
Speaker 1: Part of what I love about the mommy days I
Speaker 1: do each summer with each of my kids is that
Speaker 1: I join them in something that they love. When someone
Speaker 1: you love invites you into their world, accept their invitation
Speaker 1: if you possibly can. Often an invitation to go to
Speaker 1: the lake, or to the nail salon, or to a
Speaker 1: dance performance. Maybe less about the destination and more about
Speaker 1: joining a person who's important to you in a place
Speaker 1: or activity that's important to them and that is well
Speaker 1: worth your time. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at before Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: That's b the number four than Breakfast pod. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at before Breakfast podcast. At
Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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