WEBVTT - Make your minutes better 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to make your minutes better. Happiness is

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<v Speaker 1>more about what we are experiencing moment by moment than

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<v Speaker 1>any lofty concepts. Get the minutes right and you can

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<v Speaker 1>win big. So. My youngest child learned to walk a

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<v Speaker 1>few months ago, and as anybody who has raised a

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<v Speaker 1>toddler knows, this can be a rough stage. They are

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<v Speaker 1>into everything and they have zero sense. It's hard to

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<v Speaker 1>relax when you're chasing a toddler everywhere and trying to

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<v Speaker 1>keep them from hurting themselves. This can make for some

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<v Speaker 1>really long hours. I have baby proof to some areas

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<v Speaker 1>inside the house, but I recently made the decision to

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<v Speaker 1>babyproof the back porch. I put a gate by the

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<v Speaker 1>opening and cleared up stuff that might be problematic. The

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<v Speaker 1>result I can now sit on the porch sofa and

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<v Speaker 1>chill as my little guy plays with toys on weekend

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<v Speaker 1>late afternoons. Now as the weather gets nicer, sometimes I

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<v Speaker 1>might enjoy a craft beer as I watch him play.

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<v Speaker 1>Instead of popping up every five seconds, I can sit

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<v Speaker 1>for ten minutes before something requires my intervention. Well, my

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<v Speaker 1>listeners without toddlers might not think that sounds relaxing. Trust

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<v Speaker 1>me when I say the difference is night and day.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you also have some stretch of time in your

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<v Speaker 1>days that feels tedious or even unpleasant. Sometimes we just

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<v Speaker 1>make do. Not all moments can be blissful, but you

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<v Speaker 1>might consider if you could do anything to make these

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<v Speaker 1>moments better. A good podcast can make a traffic am tolerable,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe you negotiate to keep working from home even

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<v Speaker 1>after COVID ends and you skip the driving entirely. A

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<v Speaker 1>really fun book can transport a waiting room experience. Great

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<v Speaker 1>music and nice smelling soap make cleaning a kitchen a

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<v Speaker 1>lot better. Even something as simple as a good chair

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<v Speaker 1>can make the sidelines of a kid's game more of

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<v Speaker 1>a relaxing experience than a chore. None of this is automatic.

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<v Speaker 1>If it were, you would already be doing it instead.

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<v Speaker 1>Happiness is at least partially the result of conscious choices.

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<v Speaker 1>You have to think through your days and about how

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<v Speaker 1>you spend your time. You have to recognize when you

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<v Speaker 1>are happy and when you aren't. You have to recognize

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<v Speaker 1>that something isn't as good as it could be, and

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<v Speaker 1>you have to think about why, and then instead of

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<v Speaker 1>feeling sad about it, you have to try something else

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<v Speaker 1>from miner annoyances. This can seem like a lot of effort,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'd argue that moment by moment happiness is actually

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<v Speaker 1>a worthy outcome. We may think that our happiness is

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<v Speaker 1>tied to big things, like a high paying job, a

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<v Speaker 1>nice house, an accomplished family, and indeed all of these

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<v Speaker 1>are wonderful. But a high paying job can still feature

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<v Speaker 1>annoying meetings. A nice house can require housework and maintenance,

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<v Speaker 1>and those things might not be so fun. And as

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<v Speaker 1>for that family, well, the toddler shure is cute, but

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<v Speaker 1>hopping up every five seconds to redirect him is not

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<v Speaker 1>a great way to relax on a Saturday. I am

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<v Speaker 1>not willing to wait to relax on nice spring afternoons

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<v Speaker 1>until he's all grown up. There are always ways to

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<v Speaker 1>make movements better. I believe in doing what we can

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<v Speaker 1>in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here is to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me.

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<v Speaker 1>On Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's

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<v Speaker 1>B the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You

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<v Speaker 1>can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>At i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. One