WEBVTT - Would you be excited to do it tonight?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is about how to figure out if something is

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<v Speaker 1>interesting to you or if it is just something you

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<v Speaker 1>feel like you should do. How would you feel about

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<v Speaker 1>doing it tonight? This can provide some useful information about

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<v Speaker 1>the lots of different ways that we could spend our time.

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<v Speaker 1>So in recent episodes, I have suggested making a list

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<v Speaker 1>of things you are into. Several people wrote me to

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<v Speaker 1>share their lists, which is amazing. But I also had

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<v Speaker 1>some people tell me that they couldn't really tell if

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<v Speaker 1>they were into something or if it was just something

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<v Speaker 1>they felt like they should be into. They should exercise more,

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<v Speaker 1>they should volunteer at the school more. They should hang

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<v Speaker 1>out with that old acquaintance who keeps suggesting getting together.

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<v Speaker 1>So here is one way to tell if you are

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<v Speaker 1>truly excited about something or if it just sounds good

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<v Speaker 1>in theory, ask yourself this, would you be excited to

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<v Speaker 1>do this thing tonight? Now, to be clear, I know

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<v Speaker 1>lots of people have logistical challenges to doing various things tonight,

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<v Speaker 1>as in actually tonight, So let's put some parameters on

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<v Speaker 1>this scenario, your boss says you can go home early,

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<v Speaker 1>and actually the office is going to be closed until

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<v Speaker 1>eleven am tomorrow, so there is no need to get

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<v Speaker 1>up at the crack of dawn to commute in. Someone

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<v Speaker 1>has booked a babysitter for you, or your spouse says

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<v Speaker 1>he or she has the kids tonight and we'll get

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<v Speaker 1>them up and off to school or daycare tomorrow morning.

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<v Speaker 1>Someone has arranged the details of whatever hobby or activity

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<v Speaker 1>it is, so you just have to say yes. With

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<v Speaker 1>all of that squared away, would you be excited to

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<v Speaker 1>do this thing tonight? I think that for things where

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<v Speaker 1>you truly do want to do something, the answer is that, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>you would be excited to do it tonight. Yes you

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<v Speaker 1>would go to that improv class. Yes you would play

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<v Speaker 1>the piano. Yes you would go to that artsy film

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<v Speaker 1>with your friend Colleen. But with everything squared away, would

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<v Speaker 1>you actually want to go to that CrossFit class that

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<v Speaker 1>your friend keeps raving about or would you feel like

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<v Speaker 1>all things considered, you would rather go for a walk.

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<v Speaker 1>Does thinking about the CrossFit class make you excited or

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<v Speaker 1>do you not feel energized when you think about doing it?

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<v Speaker 1>Would you go hang out with that friend who always

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<v Speaker 1>seems sour about everything, Or do you realize that you're

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<v Speaker 1>constantly telling this person you are busy is because you

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<v Speaker 1>actually find time together kind of draining. In general, I

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<v Speaker 1>find that we draw energy from things we enjoy doing.

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<v Speaker 1>We feel more energized after doing these things, even though

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<v Speaker 1>they take energy to do. We feel excited about the

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<v Speaker 1>possibility of doing them even tonight. If the obvious logistics

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<v Speaker 1>are taken care of, it can be hard to know

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<v Speaker 1>what we truly want versus just what sounds good. Figuring

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<v Speaker 1>out our real interests is a skill, like anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>You might think it would be obvious, and certainly when

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<v Speaker 1>I first started writing about time, I thought it would be.

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<v Speaker 1>My original view was that I could help people find

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<v Speaker 1>time for their passions because they would already know what

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<v Speaker 1>their passions were. Then I talked to enough people to

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<v Speaker 1>realize that this wasn't universally true. Plenty of people just

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<v Speaker 1>assume they are so busy that there is no point

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<v Speaker 1>even figuring out what they like. We do whatever is

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<v Speaker 1>right in front of us. Making a list can be helpful,

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<v Speaker 1>but even a list can be subject to other impulses

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<v Speaker 1>to looking like something A good person would share with

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<v Speaker 1>the world to making us seem more sophisticated than we are.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, I put on multiple versions of my list

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<v Speaker 1>of one hundred dreams that I wanted to see Casablanca.

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<v Speaker 1>It is supposedly the best movie ever made, and I

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<v Speaker 1>am the sort of person who likes great art, so

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<v Speaker 1>I should see it right Well, I can tell you

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<v Speaker 1>that since I have made that list, there have been

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<v Speaker 1>hundreds of days where I could have watched that movie

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<v Speaker 1>if I wanted to. It never felt like something I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to do tonight, which means that I probably don't

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<v Speaker 1>have a huge desire to do it. Good to know

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<v Speaker 1>you may find the same. So as you make a

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<v Speaker 1>list of your interests, think about whether you would be

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<v Speaker 1>excited to do these things tonight. If so, great, If not,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe it's not a real priority in your life, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is totally fine as well. 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. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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