WEBVTT - Give it a name

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that you can make a ritual or tradition

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<v Speaker 1>feel even more special by giving it a name. Giving

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<v Speaker 1>something a name makes it feel distinct. It becomes a

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<v Speaker 1>character in your life and in your memory, which ultimately

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<v Speaker 1>gives it a place of honor. Today's tip, like another

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<v Speaker 1>one we'll talk about this week, comes from Happier Hour,

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<v Speaker 1>a book by UCLA Business School professor Cassie Holmes on

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<v Speaker 1>how to spend your time well. Holmes writes about how

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<v Speaker 1>she and her preschool aged daughter had a weekly coffee

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<v Speaker 1>date that they both loved, so they wanted to make

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<v Speaker 1>it feel even more vi. As Holmes put it, they

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<v Speaker 1>turned routine into ritual and made it a thing. Holmes explains,

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<v Speaker 1>whereas habits serve to help get us through the day

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<v Speaker 1>without extra thought, traditions imbue these passing moments with greater meaning.

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<v Speaker 1>Traditions serve to connect us to each other and across time.

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<v Speaker 1>They give us a sense of belonging. Holmes and her

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<v Speaker 1>daughter did a lot of things to make their coffee

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<v Speaker 1>dates feel more special, but one approach deserves attention because

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<v Speaker 1>it is so easy to replicate. They gave the experience

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<v Speaker 1>a name. It became the Thursday morning coffee date using

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<v Speaker 1>capital letters. Now this may seem like a small thing,

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<v Speaker 1>but when something has a formal name, it becomes more formal,

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<v Speaker 1>it feels more important. Just as an example, there is

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<v Speaker 1>nothing stopping you from gathering with friends and family to

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<v Speaker 1>give thanks on the fourth Thursday of November just to

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<v Speaker 1>do so. But by calling it Thanksgiving dinner, we create

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<v Speaker 1>weight for the occasion, and we think about how we

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<v Speaker 1>will do it year to year, and how we did

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<v Speaker 1>it last year, and what we like to see and eat,

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<v Speaker 1>and we build it into the mental landscape of that

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<v Speaker 1>time of year. Likewise, two people can get coffee in

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<v Speaker 1>a muffin most Thursdays with no particular ceremony, but by

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<v Speaker 1>calling it the Thursday morning coffee date, it becomes more

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<v Speaker 1>of an institution. No doubt, Holmes and her daughter would

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<v Speaker 1>talk about it ahead of time or say, remember when

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<v Speaker 1>this happened at the last Thursday morning coffee date. I

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<v Speaker 1>will add to this that if you give something a name,

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<v Speaker 1>then turning it into an acronym can make it feel

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<v Speaker 1>even a little bit more special because you know the acronym.

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<v Speaker 1>As an insider, back when I was a freshman in

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<v Speaker 1>high school, I remember that four senior girls took out

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<v Speaker 1>an ad in the yearbook about Jack. Those four letters

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<v Speaker 1>were the first letters of their names. Now, who knows

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<v Speaker 1>whatever became of Jack, as these ladies are all grown

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<v Speaker 1>up now, but they made it very clear that their

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<v Speaker 1>foursome was an institution. Do you have any routines that

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<v Speaker 1>you'd like to make even more special and transform into

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<v Speaker 1>a tradition. Perhaps you walk with your kids to school

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<v Speaker 1>on Wednesdays, or you have Sunday morning waffles, or you

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<v Speaker 1>generally have lunch with your direct reports on Fridays. Try

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<v Speaker 1>giving these routines a name. The names don't have to

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<v Speaker 1>be particularly poetic, and often they'll have merged naturally. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just a matter of noticing them and formalizing them by

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<v Speaker 1>capitalizing the name and then using the same name all

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<v Speaker 1>the time. For instance, if your walk to school becomes

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<v Speaker 1>the Wednesday walk, then instead of hollering at the kids

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<v Speaker 1>to hurry up, we'll be late, you start hollering, we

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<v Speaker 1>need to do the Wednesday walk. Or your Sunday waffles

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<v Speaker 1>could become the waffle wake up. People love alliteration. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you start calling your Friday lunches your celebration lunches as

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<v Speaker 1>a way to get people to focus on everything that

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<v Speaker 1>went right during the week. When we give our habits

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<v Speaker 1>and routines names as part of transforming them into traditions,

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<v Speaker 1>we create opportunities to recognize meaning in our everyday lives.

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<v Speaker 1>Ordinary experiences can become extraordinary. They connect us to each

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<v Speaker 1>other and to our past and to our future. If

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<v Speaker 1>you give a routine a name and transform it into

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<v Speaker 1>a tradition, I'd love to hear about it. You can

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<v Speaker 1>reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 1>to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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