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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is about little ways that you can bring

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Speaker 1: more joy to the world. This episode is first airing

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Speaker 1: on Christmas Day, and for those who celebrate the holiday,

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Speaker 1: it's supposed to be one of the most joyful days

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Speaker 1: of the year, and hopefully for anyone listening to this podcast,

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Speaker 1: that is the case. But happiness in general is a

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Speaker 1: funny thing. Well, we certainly appreciate moments of big joy,

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Speaker 1: our moods and life satisfaction tend to be more affected

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Speaker 1: by small, repeated pleasures and wonders. So what would it

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Speaker 1: take to make every day? Mary? We can choose to

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Speaker 1: bring little joys to the world, both to ourselves, those

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Speaker 1: we love, and to the people we meet in general.

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Speaker 1: I've been brainstorming a list of these little joys, and

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Speaker 1: I invite you to share one's dream up with me

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Speaker 1: as well. One fun one. If you're the first rising

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Speaker 1: member of your family, wake the others a minute or

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Speaker 1: so before their alarms would go off with a kiss

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Speaker 1: or a hug. If you're on your own, wait to

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Speaker 1: inspirational music rather than a soulless beap. Get a programmable

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Speaker 1: coffee maker that can be set the night before so

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Speaker 1: everyone wakes to a hot cup, or if you're the

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Speaker 1: first riser, make it for everyone else. Don't start your

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Speaker 1: day reading depressing headlines or demanding emails. There's time enough

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Speaker 1: for that later. Make the first thing you read something beautiful,

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Speaker 1: like poetry or a sacred text. If you read something

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Speaker 1: that makes you think of a friend or family member,

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Speaker 1: find a way to share it with that person. By

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Speaker 1: email is fine, but an actual phone call can really

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Speaker 1: spark joy. When you get to your office, smile and

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Speaker 1: say hello to your coworkers. Ask how they're doing. Listen

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Speaker 1: with your full attention as they respond. Be generous with praise.

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Speaker 1: Send a note of appreciation. You never know when it

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Speaker 1: will make someone's day. Okay, scratch that, you can actually

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Speaker 1: be quite confident that it will make someone's day. Most

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Speaker 1: of us don't exactly sit around reaping praise notes daily,

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Speaker 1: so this is an easy way to spread joy. If

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Speaker 1: you have a good experience at a restaurant or hotel

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Speaker 1: or store, right the manager and name the person who

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Speaker 1: helped you. These are the sorts of things that tend

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Speaker 1: to go up on the wall in the employee break

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Speaker 1: room and can make everyone feel better about life. Put

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Speaker 1: your change in the tip jar. Those quarters cause more

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Speaker 1: joy there than they do in your pocket. And if

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Speaker 1: those quarters do, land in your pocket. And put a

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Speaker 1: little extra change in your parking meter so someone else

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Speaker 1: can park for free after you. People give and get

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Speaker 1: lots of gifts on Christmas, and that can be fun.

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Speaker 1: But gifts can bring more joy when they're given just because.

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Speaker 1: Buy your spouse a five dollar bouquet of flowers at

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Speaker 1: the grocery store simply because it's Tuesday. Bring home something

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Speaker 1: whimsical from a business trip, or maybe you don't even

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Speaker 1: need to bring something home. You can start an inside

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Speaker 1: joke with a teenage child. Every time either of you

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Speaker 1: sees a snow globe or a pet sweater in a store,

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Speaker 1: you text a picture to each other. If you see

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Speaker 1: litter somewhere and you can safely pick it up, do so.

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Speaker 1: Check in on older neighbors, occasionally, print up some of

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Speaker 1: the photos you take and mail copies to the people

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Speaker 1: who are in them. Sharing little bits of joy with

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Speaker 1: the world doesn't need to take a whole lot of time.

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Speaker 1: But if you go through your days consciously looking for

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Speaker 1: ways to make the world better. Well, you will make

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Speaker 1: it better and that can make every day I feel

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Speaker 1: like Christmas. I'd love to hear how you bring joy

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Speaker 1: to the world. You can email me at Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime, this

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Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making the

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Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,

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Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media

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Speaker 1: dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I

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Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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Speaker 1: your favorite shows. This