WEBVTT - How to end well 

0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:06.400
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:13.720
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:17.840
<v Speaker 1>Earlier this week, we talked about streaks and the idea

0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:22.920
<v Speaker 1>of doing something every single day. Of course, nothing lasts forever,

0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:26.000
<v Speaker 1>and all habits or human endeavors end at some point.

0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.680
<v Speaker 1>The question is how you end things, and today's tip

0:00:30.120 --> 0:00:35.159
<v Speaker 1>is about how to end things. Well, I'm currently somewhere

0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:38.919
<v Speaker 1>over nine days into an everyday running streak. I've run

0:00:38.960 --> 0:00:41.360
<v Speaker 1>at least a mile a day every day since December.

0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:45.720
<v Speaker 1>I'll knock on wood here and say that I've been

0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.960
<v Speaker 1>lucky to have no serious injuries, though I definitely practice

0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.600
<v Speaker 1>some injury prevention strategies to ward those off. But it's

0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:55.120
<v Speaker 1>easy to imagine that a running streak could end because

0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:58.400
<v Speaker 1>of illness or injury, or some external force like that.

0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:01.720
<v Speaker 1>I'd like to think I make my peace with the idea,

0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:05.120
<v Speaker 1>but it's hard to know. So I was interested to

0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:08.280
<v Speaker 1>read in a recent issue of Runners World about a

0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:11.080
<v Speaker 1>young man who made a conscious decision to end his

0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:14.679
<v Speaker 1>running streak for his wedding day. He made it into

0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:17.960
<v Speaker 1>a big celebration. He and his guests all ran an

0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:21.640
<v Speaker 1>informal five k together. Then he got married and the

0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:25.160
<v Speaker 1>next day he did not run. He wanted to release

0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:28.119
<v Speaker 1>himself from any potential stress of needing to run every

0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:31.200
<v Speaker 1>day on his honeymoon while they were traveling well, his

0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:34.280
<v Speaker 1>new wife was perfectly happy with his running. It also

0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:36.840
<v Speaker 1>made sense to take a big life change and use

0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:41.240
<v Speaker 1>it to consciously reevaluate his schedule. I really like this

0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:45.040
<v Speaker 1>idea of a conscious ending in life. We often pay

0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:48.520
<v Speaker 1>more attention to how things begin verse how they end.

0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:52.160
<v Speaker 1>We subscribe to things that are on auto renewal and

0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:55.200
<v Speaker 1>pay for them for years. We sign up for a

0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:58.440
<v Speaker 1>retailer's website and continue to get their emails long after

0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:02.360
<v Speaker 1>we've ceased to care. We schedule recurring team meetings without

0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:05.760
<v Speaker 1>asking whether we actually intend to continue these on Tuesdays

0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:11.840
<v Speaker 1>until the end of time. Most likely we don't. Indeed,

0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:14.720
<v Speaker 1>we do know that there will come a Tuesday without

0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:20.000
<v Speaker 1>that staff meeting. The question is how it happens. I've

0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:23.320
<v Speaker 1>been pondering this with my running streak. One option I've

0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:26.520
<v Speaker 1>thought about is going to a thousand days and then stopping.

0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:31.440
<v Speaker 1>That would take me to late September two nine. There's

0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:33.840
<v Speaker 1>a nice roundness to that number, so there's something to

0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.080
<v Speaker 1>be said for that. Of course, one reason I've stuck

0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:39.560
<v Speaker 1>with my running streak is that I love to run.

0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:42.720
<v Speaker 1>Most days, I'm quite glad I went for a run.

0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:46.079
<v Speaker 1>So it's quite possible that I decide to end my streak,

0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:48.600
<v Speaker 1>but then wake up on the next late September morning

0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.680
<v Speaker 1>with the early fall sunlight dappling through the trees and

0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:55.000
<v Speaker 1>the just cooler temperature is beckoning to me, and I think,

0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:58.359
<v Speaker 1>you know, I'd really like to go for a run.

0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.560
<v Speaker 1>So we shall see. But as with athletes retiring on

0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:04.800
<v Speaker 1>top of their games, it's often wiser to end things

0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:08.880
<v Speaker 1>on your terms, rather than because circumstances force an end

0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:12.600
<v Speaker 1>upon you. If you're pondering ending something in your life,

0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:17.200
<v Speaker 1>try thinking what would make a satisfying story. For me,

0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:22.240
<v Speaker 1>a thousand days feels pretty satisfying. Not many people can

0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.280
<v Speaker 1>say they've run for a thousand days straight. For the

0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:27.799
<v Speaker 1>young man who stopped running for his wedding, it was

0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:31.480
<v Speaker 1>about acknowledging a new chapter of his life. You can

0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:34.680
<v Speaker 1>also mark the occasion in some way the groom brand

0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:37.520
<v Speaker 1>of five K with his wedding guests. I might decide

0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:40.000
<v Speaker 1>to run a really long run, like maybe a half

0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:43.240
<v Speaker 1>marathon or something to acknowledge the end of my streak,

0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:48.320
<v Speaker 1>throw a party, acknowledge how important the moment is, and

0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:50.520
<v Speaker 1>perhaps most important of all, it's good to end things,

0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:54.280
<v Speaker 1>to try something new that you're excited about. The happiest

0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:57.600
<v Speaker 1>former athletes start new ventures that use their time and energy,

0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:03.640
<v Speaker 1>whether that's businesses or nonprofit that's happy. Retirees are volunteering, traveling,

0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:07.840
<v Speaker 1>taking care of their grandchildren, writing books. I'm not planning

0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:10.800
<v Speaker 1>to stop running, even if I stopped running every day,

0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.440
<v Speaker 1>but maybe I could do something different with those non

0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:15.880
<v Speaker 1>running days, like committing to going for a bike rider,

0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:19.839
<v Speaker 1>taking an exercise class. In any case, a chosen ending

0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:24.600
<v Speaker 1>often feels more affirming than an unchosen ending. So what

0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:27.280
<v Speaker 1>are you looking to end and how can you end

0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:31.279
<v Speaker 1>it well? I'd love to hear your stories in the meantime.

0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:35.200
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:44.080
<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:47.039
<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:50.880
<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:55.800
<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the

0:04:55.920 --> 0:05:00.200
<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:04.200
<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia

0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:06.920
<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:09.760
<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:18.440
<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.

0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:21.919
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i

0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:25.520
<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:26.360
<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.