WEBVTT - Life is just a memory

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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 that life is mostly made up of memories.

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<v Speaker 1>We can anticipate the future, but that is largely unknown.

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<v Speaker 1>The present is fleeting memories we truly have. This ratio

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<v Speaker 1>means that it might be worth organizing life to pay

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<v Speaker 1>a bit more attention to memories than we might naturally

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<v Speaker 1>be inclined to do so. When you make your plans

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<v Speaker 1>for the day, or for a weekend, or even for

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<v Speaker 1>your year, my guess is that there are many criteria.

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<v Speaker 1>You figure out what needs to get done, You ask

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<v Speaker 1>what other people are doing. You consider what feels relaxing

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<v Speaker 1>or what is easiest at the moment. For most of us,

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<v Speaker 1>what makes the most or the best memories is not

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<v Speaker 1>going to be the primary consideration, And I'm not saying

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<v Speaker 1>that it should be, but I think it should be

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<v Speaker 1>a bigger consideration than it often is. That is because

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<v Speaker 1>life is made up of memories. The future is uncertain.

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<v Speaker 1>You can barely think about the present before it is gone.

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<v Speaker 1>Memories based on a past that actually happened are the

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<v Speaker 1>most known part of our life. Stories when we plan

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<v Speaker 1>our lives to optimize memories. We create a story we

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<v Speaker 1>will be able to hold onto, one that can make

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<v Speaker 1>our lives feel more like they happened, then that they

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<v Speaker 1>were completely forgettable. Time feel stretched out. We don't say

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<v Speaker 1>where did the time go when we remember where the

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<v Speaker 1>time went. What this means in practice is nudging ourselves

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<v Speaker 1>to do things that create more memories. These may not

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<v Speaker 1>always be the easiest or most comfortable things to do

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<v Speaker 1>in the moment, but if we realize that life is

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<v Speaker 1>mostly memory, we might be more motivated. For instance, traveling

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<v Speaker 1>can be fun, but to be honest, big chunks of

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<v Speaker 1>it can be a bother. Plane flights are uncomfortable, so

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<v Speaker 1>is sleeping in new beds. Adjusting to uncertainty can be challenging,

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<v Speaker 1>as as being apart from familiar routines and foods and

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<v Speaker 1>other things. But when you think of your memories of

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<v Speaker 1>any given year, I would guess that any major trips

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<v Speaker 1>you took are one of the key ways that you

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<v Speaker 1>define the year. Oh, yes, that's the summer when we

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<v Speaker 1>went to France. My mother in law recently shared some

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<v Speaker 1>of her memories with the family in an album she

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<v Speaker 1>created for all of us. Many of her recollections had

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<v Speaker 1>to do with her travels. Certainly, you will have more

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<v Speaker 1>memories of, say, a week spent on a safari, than

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<v Speaker 1>a week spent in your apartment. Now, you can't spend

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<v Speaker 1>all your weeks on safari, but if you have the

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to take a trip from time to time, it

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<v Speaker 1>is probably going to be a better memory than not traveling,

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<v Speaker 1>even if not traveling is more comfortable. I have tracked

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<v Speaker 1>my time for over seven years now, and I have

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<v Speaker 1>recently begun studying my time logs from six years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>when the date cycle was the same as it was

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<v Speaker 1>for this past year. December being a Monday in both

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<v Speaker 1>the normal days of work and kidcare and costco runs

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<v Speaker 1>are hard to place. But when I see something unusual

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<v Speaker 1>on my log, something a little adventurous, I can conjure

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<v Speaker 1>up those memories pretty quickly. Memories make past times feel

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<v Speaker 1>more rich and full. Now. Of course, there is nothing

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<v Speaker 1>wrong with routines and the normal rhythm of work and

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<v Speaker 1>kid care and costco runs, but even any given week

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<v Speaker 1>can be made a little different by doing something a

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<v Speaker 1>little different. In the deepest days of COVID lockdowns, one

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<v Speaker 1>family I know of made a giant game of shoots

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<v Speaker 1>and ladders with chalk on their driveway. Life is a memory,

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<v Speaker 1>and in normal life that became one. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>as you plan the next week or the next few weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>try taking into account what memories you would like to

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<v Speaker 1>have of this time. Memories are not just a passive

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<v Speaker 1>result of life happening. They are something we can consciously

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<v Speaker 1>choose to cultivate. Yes, we can have memories from things

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<v Speaker 1>that are just spontaneously occurring, but they are also the

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<v Speaker 1>result of our planning them in and choosing to do interesting, adventurous, novel,

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<v Speaker 1>intense things. Maybe not every day, but not never either.

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<v Speaker 1>When we take memory into account with our plans, we

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<v Speaker 1>simply do these things more often. In the meantime, This

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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

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<v Speaker 1>from it. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four then breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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