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 about how to figure out if something is
Speaker 1: interesting to you or if it is just something you
Speaker 1: feel like you should do. How would you feel about
Speaker 1: doing it tonight? This can provide some useful information about
Speaker 1: the lots of different ways that we could spend our time.
Speaker 1: So in recent episodes, I have suggested making a list
Speaker 1: of things you are into. Several people wrote me to
Speaker 1: share their lists, which is amazing. But I also had
Speaker 1: some people tell me that they couldn't really tell if
Speaker 1: they were into something or if it was just something
Speaker 1: they felt like they should be into. They should exercise more,
Speaker 1: they should volunteer at the school more. They should hang
Speaker 1: out with that old acquaintance who keeps suggesting getting together.
Speaker 1: So here is one way to tell if you are
Speaker 1: truly excited about something or if it just sounds good
Speaker 1: in theory, ask yourself this, would you be excited to
Speaker 1: do this thing tonight? Now, to be clear, I know
Speaker 1: lots of people have logistical challenges to doing various things tonight,
Speaker 1: as in actually tonight, So let's put some parameters on
Speaker 1: this scenario, your boss says you can go home early,
Speaker 1: and actually the office is going to be closed until
Speaker 1: eleven am tomorrow, so there is no need to get
Speaker 1: up at the crack of dawn to commute in. Someone
Speaker 1: has booked a babysitter for you, or your spouse says
Speaker 1: he or she has the kids tonight and we'll get
Speaker 1: them up and off to school or daycare tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1: Someone has arranged the details of whatever hobby or activity
Speaker 1: it is, so you just have to say yes. With
Speaker 1: all of that squared away, would you be excited to
Speaker 1: do this thing tonight? I think that for things where
Speaker 1: you truly do want to do something, the answer is that, yes,
Speaker 1: you would be excited to do it tonight. Yes you
Speaker 1: would go to that improv class. Yes you would play
Speaker 1: the piano. Yes you would go to that artsy film
Speaker 1: with your friend Colleen. But with everything squared away, would
Speaker 1: you actually want to go to that CrossFit class that
Speaker 1: your friend keeps raving about or would you feel like
Speaker 1: all things considered, you would rather go for a walk.
Speaker 1: Does thinking about the CrossFit class make you excited or
Speaker 1: do you not feel energized when you think about doing it?
Speaker 1: Would you go hang out with that friend who always
Speaker 1: seems sour about everything, Or do you realize that you're
Speaker 1: constantly telling this person you are busy is because you
Speaker 1: actually find time together kind of draining. In general, I
Speaker 1: find that we draw energy from things we enjoy doing.
Speaker 1: We feel more energized after doing these things, even though
Speaker 1: they take energy to do. We feel excited about the
Speaker 1: possibility of doing them even tonight. If the obvious logistics
Speaker 1: are taken care of, it can be hard to know
Speaker 1: what we truly want versus just what sounds good. Figuring
Speaker 1: out our real interests is a skill, like anything else.
Speaker 1: You might think it would be obvious, and certainly when
Speaker 1: I first started writing about time, I thought it would be.
Speaker 1: My original view was that I could help people find
Speaker 1: time for their passions because they would already know what
Speaker 1: their passions were. Then I talked to enough people to
Speaker 1: realize that this wasn't universally true. Plenty of people just
Speaker 1: assume they are so busy that there is no point
Speaker 1: even figuring out what they like. We do whatever is
Speaker 1: right in front of us. Making a list can be helpful,
Speaker 1: but even a list can be subject to other impulses
Speaker 1: to looking like something A good person would share with
Speaker 1: the world to making us seem more sophisticated than we are.
Speaker 1: For instance, I put on multiple versions of my list
Speaker 1: of one hundred dreams that I wanted to see Casablanca.
Speaker 1: It is supposedly the best movie ever made, and I
Speaker 1: am the sort of person who likes great art, so
Speaker 1: I should see it right Well, I can tell you
Speaker 1: that since I have made that list, there have been
Speaker 1: hundreds of days where I could have watched that movie
Speaker 1: if I wanted to. It never felt like something I
Speaker 1: wanted to do tonight, which means that I probably don't
Speaker 1: have a huge desire to do it. Good to know
Speaker 1: you may find the same. So as you make a
Speaker 1: list of your interests, think about whether you would be
Speaker 1: excited to do these things tonight. If so, great, If not,
Speaker 1: maybe it's not a real priority in your life, and
Speaker 1: that is totally fine as well. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.