WEBVTT - Develop a spirit of iteration

0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:09.320
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:16.280
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:19.000
<v Speaker 1>tip is that when you are trying out a new

0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:26.040
<v Speaker 1>habit or routine, develop a spirit of iteration. Don't assume

0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:30.160
<v Speaker 1>that if things go wrong you have to quit. It

0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:33.440
<v Speaker 1>may be that with a few tweaks or a new approach,

0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:40.000
<v Speaker 1>your routine might work after all. Today's tip comes from

0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:43.440
<v Speaker 1>Sarah Hartunger, who is the co host on my other podcast,

0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:47.839
<v Speaker 1>Best of Both Worlds. When Sarah was a guest on

0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:52.440
<v Speaker 1>a long form episode of this podcast, she suggested that

0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:56.160
<v Speaker 1>new habits should be approached with a spirit of iteration.

0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.040
<v Speaker 1>Don't assume that a habit will work perfectly the first

0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:05.440
<v Speaker 1>time around. You may need to experiment to find the

0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:10.160
<v Speaker 1>best way to make it work for you. So, for example,

0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:13.080
<v Speaker 1>maybe you have read somewhere that family meals are supposed

0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:16.040
<v Speaker 1>to be good for kids. So you decide your family

0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:19.720
<v Speaker 1>is going to have dinner together every night. You cook

0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:23.600
<v Speaker 1>a nice dinner on Monday, which your kids promptly reject

0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:28.640
<v Speaker 1>and demand grapes and string cheese. Instead, you could give

0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:32.800
<v Speaker 1>up and announce that family dinner isn't for you. But

0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:36.120
<v Speaker 1>maybe you can approach this situation with a spirit of iteration.

0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:40.479
<v Speaker 1>Maybe family dinner doesn't mean that everyone has the same dinner.

0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:44.600
<v Speaker 1>Maybe you serve everything family style and people choose what

0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:48.040
<v Speaker 1>they want and skip what they don't. Or maybe you

0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:51.320
<v Speaker 1>cook for you and your appreciative partner and the kid

0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:54.640
<v Speaker 1>with the adventurous taste buds and let the others eat

0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.800
<v Speaker 1>buttered noodles and sliced apples every night. Even if your

0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:03.360
<v Speaker 1>plates look different, you are still eating together. Or you

0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.480
<v Speaker 1>can adopt my mantra that three times a week is

0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:12.160
<v Speaker 1>a habit. You eat together three times a week, understanding

0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:16.000
<v Speaker 1>that family meals don't always have to be dinner. You

0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:19.840
<v Speaker 1>can have pizza on Friday night, which everyone likes, plus

0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:23.640
<v Speaker 1>pancakes Sunday morning, and dinner Wednesday night out at that

0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:28.080
<v Speaker 1>restaurant that has the buffet everyone can tolerate. You are

0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:31.600
<v Speaker 1>still eating together, and maybe this routine can work for

0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:35.800
<v Speaker 1>you after all. Of course, you may discover some habits

0:02:35.840 --> 0:02:38.920
<v Speaker 1>don't actually work in real life, and that's fine, but

0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.560
<v Speaker 1>it's wise to invest a little time in trial and

0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:46.000
<v Speaker 1>error before you write things off altogether. Having a spirit

0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:49.519
<v Speaker 1>of iteration also means noticing when a habit that has

0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:54.320
<v Speaker 1>been great for you isn't any more. The Monday morning

0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:56.680
<v Speaker 1>run with your neighbor that has been an anchor of

0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:00.200
<v Speaker 1>your week for years may not be so great. When

0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.520
<v Speaker 1>you get a new job with a thirty minute commute.

0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:06.400
<v Speaker 1>After three Mondays in a row, scrambling to get out

0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:09.440
<v Speaker 1>the door on time, you may realize that what is

0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.560
<v Speaker 1>supposed to be a grounding, enjoyable start to the week

0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:18.360
<v Speaker 1>just isn't anymore, So you need to adjust. Maybe you

0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:22.160
<v Speaker 1>start your run fifteen minutes earlier, or run a shorter route,

0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:26.680
<v Speaker 1>or maybe you run Sunday mornings instead of Mondays, or

0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:29.359
<v Speaker 1>maybe you decide to have a quick coffee Monday mornings instead.

0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.680
<v Speaker 1>Just remember that a habit that worked for a while

0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:40.880
<v Speaker 1>can change when necessary. You can iterate tweaks to habits

0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:44.080
<v Speaker 1>and routines may be especially needed after changes to your schedule,

0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:46.520
<v Speaker 1>like if you move or your kids go to a

0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.720
<v Speaker 1>new school with a different start time. But even if

0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:53.760
<v Speaker 1>your schedule stays the same, routines may need to adjust

0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:58.280
<v Speaker 1>if your priorities change. We probably aren't the same people

0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:04.080
<v Speaker 1>we were five years ago, and our routines can evolve too.

0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.320
<v Speaker 1>In general, developing a spirit of iteration means you are

0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:13.080
<v Speaker 1>expecting your life to be dynamic, not static. You are

0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:19.560
<v Speaker 1>curious and open to change. Ultimately, that means things are

0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:26.680
<v Speaker 1>more likely to eventually work. In the meantime, this is Laura.

0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:32.280
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:41.880
<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:46.080
<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:55.200
<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:59.880
<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:04.000
<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:04.719
<v Speaker 1>favorite shows.