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 to imagine your best possible self. Write
Speaker 1: about your ideal vision for your life at some specific
Speaker 1: point in the future, and you'll start seeing practical ways
Speaker 1: to get there. Today's tip, like several others this week,
Speaker 1: comes from Sonya Lubamerski's book The How of Happiness, A
Speaker 1: Scientific Approach to Getting the Life you Want. Luba Mirsky
Speaker 1: provides several exercises like this Best Possible Selves diary that
Speaker 1: are designed to boost optimism, which in turn boosts happiness.
Speaker 1: Here's why optimism boosts happiness. First, Luba Mirsky says, if
Speaker 1: you're optimistic about the future, for example, you're confident that
Speaker 1: you'll be able to achieve your lifelong goals, you will
Speaker 1: invest effort in reaching those goals. You will be more
Speaker 1: persistent when you face setbacks. Second, Luba Mirski writes, optimistic
Speaker 1: people are good copers even at the worst of times.
Speaker 1: They don't deny the situation, but are likely to accept
Speaker 1: the reality of their condition and make efforts to make
Speaker 1: the best of it and even grow from it. If
Speaker 1: optimism seems a little out of place to you at
Speaker 1: the moment, you might be interested to know that Luba
Speaker 1: Mirsky distinguishes between flavors of this mindset. There is big optimism,
Speaker 1: in which you think we are on the threshold of
Speaker 1: a glorious age. There is little optimism, which means believing
Speaker 1: your train will arrive on time, and then so called
Speaker 1: very small optimism, which is just the feeling that you
Speaker 1: will make it through this day, this month, this year,
Speaker 1: that there may be ups and downs, but that everything
Speaker 1: will turn out all right in the end. If big
Speaker 1: optimism rings hollow to you at the moment, very small
Speaker 1: optimism may feel more fitting. You can look around after
Speaker 1: dinner and see that you have survived another day, so
Speaker 1: probably you will survive tomorrow too. So how does imagining
Speaker 1: our best possible selves contribute to optimism? Luba Mirski explains
Speaker 1: that when people write about their best possible selves, they
Speaker 1: recognize that it is in their power to transform themselves
Speaker 1: and to work toward valued goals. When we author our
Speaker 1: own narratives, we recognize that we can author our own
Speaker 1: lives too, and the writing part turns out to matter.
Speaker 1: We see in specific terms how the story might unfold.
Speaker 1: Luba Mirski writes, because writing is highly structured, systematic, and
Speaker 1: rule bound, it prompts you to organize, integrate, and analyze
Speaker 1: your thoughts in a way that would be difficult, if
Speaker 1: not impossible, to do if you were just fantasizing one
Speaker 1: my realize. She suggests, I now see a way to
Speaker 1: make my dream come true. So if you find yourself
Speaker 1: looking longingly to the future, pick up a pen or
Speaker 1: open your laptop and start writing. Describe your best possible self.
Speaker 1: Maybe on the first day you go back to your office,
Speaker 1: or the first day your kids go back to school,
Speaker 1: or on some specific date, say January first, twenty twenty one,
Speaker 1: or your birthday in twenty twenty five, or another day
Speaker 1: of significance to you. What will your life be like?
Speaker 1: Write about what's happening in your family, at work, with
Speaker 1: your volunteer commitments. Are you engaged in fitness or artistic pursuits?
Speaker 1: What professional milestones have you hit? Does your home or
Speaker 1: yard or closet look different than it does now? Do
Speaker 1: you speak Spanish? Do you meditate daily? Take twenty minutes
Speaker 1: and describe the best possible self you see. Then, over
Speaker 1: the next few weeks, re read what you've written and
Speaker 1: write more. You may find that envisioning your best possible
Speaker 1: self brings it closer to reality as you take steps
Speaker 1: today to become that self in the future. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media
Speaker 1: dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i
Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows. H