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 shouldn't keep good news to yourself.
Speaker 1: Spread the word about others accomplishments to give people a
Speaker 1: chance to congratulate them and share in their joy. So
Speaker 1: it is an unfortunate aspect of human nature that we
Speaker 1: tend to dwell on the negative. As you are talking
Speaker 1: with people, note what proportion of the material amounts to
Speaker 1: complaining about the weather, the price of gas, whatever unfortunate
Speaker 1: thing a partner or boss happened to do. We do
Speaker 1: all this complaining because it is easier to notice bad
Speaker 1: things than good things. We all to do it because
Speaker 1: shared complaining is a way to bond. Since no one's
Speaker 1: life is perfect, we are always careful not to talk
Speaker 1: at length about the good things in our lives in
Speaker 1: case our conversation partner is not experiencing such wonderful things.
Speaker 1: By complaining together, we establish that we are all in
Speaker 1: this together. But if you think about it, constantly complaining
Speaker 1: is an unfortunate way to go through life. Most of
Speaker 1: us don't want to brag about our own accomplishments, but Fortunately,
Speaker 1: we don't have to resort to that. A very easy
Speaker 1: way to elevate conversations is to talk about other people's accomplishments.
Speaker 1: When we share good news about mutual acquaintances, we create
Speaker 1: a culture of shared encouragement and joy. This is a
Speaker 1: good enough outcome that it is worth starting conversations just
Speaker 1: to spread good news. So whenever you hear a bit
Speaker 1: of good news that can be shared, figure out a
Speaker 1: way to do just that. If your college roommate was
Speaker 1: just elected the chair of a local committee, congratulate her
Speaker 1: on the text chain you have with all your college friends.
Speaker 1: They will no doubt leap in to congratulate her too,
Speaker 1: and you have just turned that group text into something
Speaker 1: less of a complaint zone. When a work buddy gets promoted,
Speaker 1: share it with all your online industry groups. The goal
Speaker 1: is for your work friend to be hearing from colleagues
Speaker 1: from three jobs ago about the good news, thus contributing
Speaker 1: to her sense that lots of people are cheering for her.
Speaker 1: And when a kid does something great, be sure to
Speaker 1: share that great news too. You can tell former teachers
Speaker 1: when your older child does something wonderful thanks to the
Speaker 1: strong foundation they helped lay earlier. You could even share
Speaker 1: something great that you see other kids doing with people
Speaker 1: you know, or perhaps even on social media if it
Speaker 1: seems like the right thing to do. Kids helping people
Speaker 1: clear snow off their cars, girl scouts doing a professional
Speaker 1: job selling cookies at the grocery store. Even if you
Speaker 1: don't know the people involved, there is great benefit and
Speaker 1: not keeping good news to yourself. You want the world
Speaker 1: to know that good things are happening. You can make
Speaker 1: other people smile and feel more content about life in general.
Speaker 1: That is a good in its own right, though I
Speaker 1: note that there is also a secondary benefit for you
Speaker 1: when you are the person sharing all the good things
Speaker 1: going on in your corner of the world. Some of
Speaker 1: this glow brushes off on YouTube. In the professional realm,
Speaker 1: it's one of the best ways to network. When people
Speaker 1: see you posting about your friends promotion, they are in
Speaker 1: fact seeing your name and remembering you too, and they
Speaker 1: are doing something that is congratulating your friend based on
Speaker 1: your recommendation, that is expanding your influence. So basically it
Speaker 1: is a win all around. Now, of course, there are
Speaker 1: some situations where people want good news to stay private
Speaker 1: at least for a while, in which case you should
Speaker 1: honor that. But in general, if you are happy to
Speaker 1: hear it, others will be happy to hear it too,
Speaker 1: So don't keep good news to yourself. Find as many
Speaker 1: occasions as possible to celebrate the good stuff going on,
Speaker 1: and a lot of your conversations will be far more enjoyable.
Speaker 1: In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to make 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 E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. One