1
00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

2
00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:15,160
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

3
00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:21,880
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to make your minutes better. Happiness is

4
00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:26,040
Speaker 1: more about what we are experiencing moment by moment than

5
00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:31,640
Speaker 1: any lofty concepts. Get the minutes right and you can

6
00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:36,239
Speaker 1: win big. So. My youngest child learned to walk a

7
00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:38,720
Speaker 1: few months ago, and as anybody who has raised a

8
00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,800
Speaker 1: toddler knows, this can be a rough stage. They are

9
00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:47,159
Speaker 1: into everything and they have zero sense. It's hard to

10
00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:50,559
Speaker 1: relax when you're chasing a toddler everywhere and trying to

11
00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,319
Speaker 1: keep them from hurting themselves. This can make for some

12
00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:00,000
Speaker 1: really long hours. I have baby proof to some areas

13
00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,720
Speaker 1: inside the house, but I recently made the decision to

14
00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,240
Speaker 1: babyproof the back porch. I put a gate by the

15
00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:09,640
Speaker 1: opening and cleared up stuff that might be problematic. The

16
00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,360
Speaker 1: result I can now sit on the porch sofa and

17
00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:17,479
Speaker 1: chill as my little guy plays with toys on weekend

18
00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,320
Speaker 1: late afternoons. Now as the weather gets nicer, sometimes I

19
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,320
Speaker 1: might enjoy a craft beer as I watch him play.

20
00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,160
Speaker 1: Instead of popping up every five seconds, I can sit

21
00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:32,560
Speaker 1: for ten minutes before something requires my intervention. Well, my

22
00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,679
Speaker 1: listeners without toddlers might not think that sounds relaxing. Trust

23
00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,479
Speaker 1: me when I say the difference is night and day.

24
00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,160
Speaker 1: Maybe you also have some stretch of time in your

25
00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:48,080
Speaker 1: days that feels tedious or even unpleasant. Sometimes we just

26
00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:53,560
Speaker 1: make do. Not all moments can be blissful, but you

27
00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,000
Speaker 1: might consider if you could do anything to make these

28
00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:01,240
Speaker 1: moments better. A good podcast can make a traffic am tolerable,

29
00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:04,680
Speaker 1: or maybe you negotiate to keep working from home even

30
00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,880
Speaker 1: after COVID ends and you skip the driving entirely. A

31
00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:13,440
Speaker 1: really fun book can transport a waiting room experience. Great

32
00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:17,120
Speaker 1: music and nice smelling soap make cleaning a kitchen a

33
00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:21,360
Speaker 1: lot better. Even something as simple as a good chair

34
00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,360
Speaker 1: can make the sidelines of a kid's game more of

35
00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:29,239
Speaker 1: a relaxing experience than a chore. None of this is automatic.

36
00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:34,040
Speaker 1: If it were, you would already be doing it instead.

37
00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,480
Speaker 1: Happiness is at least partially the result of conscious choices.

38
00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,919
Speaker 1: You have to think through your days and about how

39
00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:45,040
Speaker 1: you spend your time. You have to recognize when you

40
00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,839
Speaker 1: are happy and when you aren't. You have to recognize

41
00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,720
Speaker 1: that something isn't as good as it could be, and

42
00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,560
Speaker 1: you have to think about why, and then instead of

43
00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,360
Speaker 1: feeling sad about it, you have to try something else

44
00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,280
Speaker 1: from miner annoyances. This can seem like a lot of effort,

45
00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,760
Speaker 1: but I'd argue that moment by moment happiness is actually

46
00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,840
Speaker 1: a worthy outcome. We may think that our happiness is

47
00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,840
Speaker 1: tied to big things, like a high paying job, a

48
00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:19,240
Speaker 1: nice house, an accomplished family, and indeed all of these

49
00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,800
Speaker 1: are wonderful. But a high paying job can still feature

50
00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,520
Speaker 1: annoying meetings. A nice house can require housework and maintenance,

51
00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,480
Speaker 1: and those things might not be so fun. And as

52
00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,160
Speaker 1: for that family, well, the toddler shure is cute, but

53
00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,640
Speaker 1: hopping up every five seconds to redirect him is not

54
00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,040
Speaker 1: a great way to relax on a Saturday. I am

55
00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,400
Speaker 1: not willing to wait to relax on nice spring afternoons

56
00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,960
Speaker 1: until he's all grown up. There are always ways to

57
00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,920
Speaker 1: make movements better. I believe in doing what we can

58
00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:59,680
Speaker 1: in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

59
00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:09,240
Speaker 1: here is to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

60
00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:11,600
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

61
00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,400
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me.

62
00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:20,640
Speaker 1: On Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's

63
00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:25,640
Speaker 1: B the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You

64
00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,120
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.

65
00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,080
Speaker 1: At i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is

66
00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,880
Speaker 1: spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I

67
00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:42,960
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

68
00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,240
Speaker 1: production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I

69
00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,160
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

70
00:04:50,440 --> 00:05:00,280
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. One