Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to remember that you almost always have options.
Speaker 1: You may feel like your life is entirely determined by
Speaker 1: requirements and circumstances, but more often than not, you do
Speaker 1: have choices. The question is whether you are comfortable with
Speaker 1: the whole package of what a choice entails. Today's tip
Speaker 1: comes from Oliver Berkman's book Meditations for Mortals. Berkman points
Speaker 1: out that it is almost never the case that you
Speaker 1: don't have options. You don't actually have to go to work,
Speaker 1: you don't have to floss your teeth. It's just that
Speaker 1: those options come with consequences, So you have to weigh
Speaker 1: the appeal of the whole package of the option plus
Speaker 1: its consequences. If you don't go to work, you might
Speaker 1: not get paid or perhaps keep the job for long.
Speaker 1: If you don't fluss, you might have cavities or gum trouble.
Speaker 1: And these are options. They just might not be appealing
Speaker 1: options once you consider the whole package. Starting from the
Speaker 1: premise that you almost always have options, but options come
Speaker 1: with consequences, Berkman reframes the decision. The only two questions
Speaker 1: at any moment of choice in life, he says, are
Speaker 1: what the price is and whether or not it's worth paying. Now,
Speaker 1: I'm going to go out on a limb and say
Speaker 1: that for most of us, we are probably wise to
Speaker 1: choose to go to work. But you won't be surprised
Speaker 1: to know that I have decided that I don't have
Speaker 1: to tidy the house before bedtime, or buy on trend
Speaker 1: clothes every season, or cook meals from scratch every night.
Speaker 1: Whatever consequences come with those choices are ones I am
Speaker 1: willing to accept. Berkman even refers to my work and
Speaker 1: his meditation about how you always have choices. He quotes
Speaker 1: me telling people that there is no eleven pm home
Speaker 1: inspection with someone coming around to see if all the
Speaker 1: toys are picked up. You really can relax and take
Speaker 1: some time for yourself at night, even if your house
Speaker 1: is a wreck. There are no grave consequences that come
Speaker 1: with that option. So if your schedule feels overwhelming, or
Speaker 1: you think some aspect of your life is inescapable, think again.
Speaker 1: You don't have to get up at four am to
Speaker 1: pack lunches for your kids and exercise and put on
Speaker 1: makeup and dry your hair before work. What would happen
Speaker 1: if your kids bought school lunch and you did a
Speaker 1: five minute beauty routine instead of a longer one, or
Speaker 1: perhaps didn't exercise every day. You don't have to stay
Speaker 1: in your current job because you assume you will never
Speaker 1: find one that pays as well. You could at least
Speaker 1: look for a new job. It is entirely possible that
Speaker 1: you will find one that pays just as well or better.
Speaker 1: And if you find a great job that pays less, well,
Speaker 1: maybe a salary cut is a consequence that is worth
Speaker 1: it to get a job you are excited about. So
Speaker 1: when you hear yourself talking about what you have to
Speaker 1: do or what you can't do, consider the option you
Speaker 1: would prefer and return to Berkman's questions, what is the
Speaker 1: price of doing what you want to do or not
Speaker 1: doing what you don't want to do? And is that
Speaker 1: price worth paying? I would love to hear what you decide.
Speaker 1: You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to before Breakfast If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.