Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is that you don't have to do everything
Speaker 1: that anybody else does. You can admire what they do
Speaker 1: without aspiring to it yourself. Humans are social creatures, so
Speaker 1: we take our cues about what we should be doing
Speaker 1: from what we see around us, and when something is
Speaker 1: done very well, it is easy to feel that we
Speaker 1: are just not measuring up. Your neighbors work in their
Speaker 1: yard every Saturday and plant seasonal color in their flower
Speaker 1: beds with astonishing frequency, so that something is blooming in
Speaker 1: their yard nine months of the year. Meanwhile, you are
Speaker 1: doing your best to keep your yard mood and raked.
Speaker 1: Your colleague does aerobic exercise five nights a week, plus
Speaker 1: regular strength training in yoga, and oh, by the way,
Speaker 1: she volunteers for a youth running program twice a week,
Speaker 1: which makes you feel less proud of walking once a
Speaker 1: week and going to yoga every now and then. Your
Speaker 1: friend from book club cooks an amazing spread every time
Speaker 1: it is her turn to host, so you are a
Speaker 1: little sheepish about ordering pizza when it is your turn.
Speaker 1: You know the people I am talking about you look
Speaker 1: at them and are wowed by what they are doing
Speaker 1: and keenly aware of what you are not doing, at
Speaker 1: least not to the same degree. But here's the thing.
Speaker 1: It is quite possible to admire something without thinking you
Speaker 1: should do it. We are well aware of that in
Speaker 1: certain professional realms. I don't watch an NBA game and
Speaker 1: feel bad about myself because my jump shot doesn't look
Speaker 1: like that. I don't walk into an art museum study
Speaker 1: a haunting Andrew Wyath painting and feel sad because I
Speaker 1: can't paint like that. I know these are amazing examples
Speaker 1: that I can be in awe of. I am not
Speaker 1: supposed to be doing anything like that. I am supposed
Speaker 1: to be impressed and inspired that such greatness exists. Of course,
Speaker 1: it makes sense that it is a little harder to
Speaker 1: get our heads around this idea with people who are
Speaker 1: closer to home. Your neighbors are literally your neighbors. Your
Speaker 1: colleague probably has similar workplace demands and skills, your friend
Speaker 1: has a similar life, and so these people's talents and
Speaker 1: skills may feel a little more like they should be
Speaker 1: points of reference. But we can transfer the same mindset
Speaker 1: when people put tons of time and effort into something
Speaker 1: they can do well at it. But we all have
Speaker 1: to make choices about what to put our time and
Speaker 1: effort into. We tend to choose things that we truly
Speaker 1: enjoy or that we find meaningful. These are different things
Speaker 1: for everyone. If your neighbors, colleagues, and friends inspire you
Speaker 1: to take your creativity up a natural, great, But you
Speaker 1: can also remind yourself that just because some one else
Speaker 1: does something doesn't mean you need to. We all have
Speaker 1: our reasons, We all have our seasons. Your neighbors are
Speaker 1: retired empty nesters. The time they have for their yard
Speaker 1: as time you are spending helping with homework and managing
Speaker 1: your work team. Your friend who cooks gourmet meals for
Speaker 1: book club may truly enjoy cooking as her favorite hobby.
Speaker 1: The time you spend reading books beyond the book club
Speaker 1: fair and exercising is the time she spends behind the stove.
Speaker 1: Maybe you've read Ulysses and she hasn't. It is all time,
Speaker 1: and time goes somewhere. People's lives have different shapes, jobs
Speaker 1: of varying intensities, parenting or caregiving responsibilities, more or less
Speaker 1: help at home, hobbies, and volunteer commitments that ask more
Speaker 1: or less of people's time, health challenges, or long commutes
Speaker 1: that shape how much time is available for pursuits beyond
Speaker 1: the necessities. Nobody does it all. You are seeing one
Speaker 1: aspect of people's lives. You are probably not seeing all
Speaker 1: of it, and they aren't seeing all of your life either.
Speaker 1: So you are under no obligation to do everything that
Speaker 1: anyone else does. You have full license to admire what
Speaker 1: others do without aspiring to do it yourself. Probably you
Speaker 1: are doing something that others admire if you think about it.
Speaker 1: In deed, try thinking about it. You probably have your
Speaker 1: greatest hits too. And if you have something that you
Speaker 1: are reasonably proud of, you might try letting any aspirational
Speaker 1: feelings you find yourself indulging allow you to try to
Speaker 1: take that up a notch. We can challenge ourselves, and
Speaker 1: when we do put time and effort into things, we
Speaker 1: often get pretty good results. It's just a matter of
Speaker 1: choosing what we find worthwhile. In the meantime. This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's b E the number four, then
Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more
Speaker 1: podcasts from i heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.