Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to spend some time purposefully imagining happy
Speaker 1: future activities. It's easy to spend time worrying, but daydreaming
Speaker 1: is a more productive use of time. If you're like
Speaker 1: a lot of people my age, as a teenager, you
Speaker 1: may have spent hours poring over those thick, glossy brochures
Speaker 1: that college is sent in the mail. I remember imagining
Speaker 1: myself on various grassy quads, always engaged in deep conversations.
Speaker 1: My life could go in so many directions. I imagine
Speaker 1: during my babysitting years what my own family would look like.
Speaker 1: I imagine the book side right. Does life look exactly
Speaker 1: like I thought it would? Well, of course not. But
Speaker 1: picturing a positive future gave me something to look forward to.
Speaker 1: And it turns out that daydreaming hits the spot now too,
Speaker 1: Even though I have a lot less of life to
Speaker 1: go than I did in tenth grade. Some things are
Speaker 1: less in the realm of possibility, but some things still are.
Speaker 1: I'm picturing the trips I'll take when travel restrictions are
Speaker 1: lifted and I'm picturing the quiet in my house during
Speaker 1: the day when my kids are all back in school.
Speaker 1: If life happens to feel challenging in a moment, daydreaming
Speaker 1: raises the possibility of enjoyment. So today, if you find
Speaker 1: yourself daydreaming, embrace it. If you find yourself sitting in
Speaker 1: your backyard and thinking about how much you'd like to
Speaker 1: have a garden, well really indulge this thought. Get out
Speaker 1: a sketch pad and a tape measure and draw what
Speaker 1: your garden would look like. Peruse a coffee table home
Speaker 1: design book and dream up ways of redecorating your home.
Speaker 1: You could plan guest lists and try out recipes for
Speaker 1: casual get togethers you'd like to host some day. Or
Speaker 1: maybe you want to plan a dream vacation. Get a
Speaker 1: Lonely Planet ey'd for your favorite destination and go online
Speaker 1: to read about sites you'd like to see. If there's
Speaker 1: a restaurant you're dying to try or to return to
Speaker 1: after so long away, view the menu online and imagine
Speaker 1: what you'll order. You might consider who will accompany you,
Speaker 1: and even what you'll wear. Dreaming about our futures takes
Speaker 1: us out of the sometimes disappointing present. It also nudges
Speaker 1: us to start planning, which makes it more possible to
Speaker 1: put these dreams into action. And here's a little secret.
Speaker 1: There's some research finding that anticipation accounts for the lion's
Speaker 1: share of the happiness associated with any event. The dream
Speaker 1: vacation will be great, but at some point during it,
Speaker 1: you'll be jet lagged, you'll desperately need a restroom in
Speaker 1: a museum without one, and you won't be able to
Speaker 1: understand the conductor on your train so you'll miss your stop.
Speaker 1: Day dreams feature none of this, so we may as
Speaker 1: well enjoy these rare spots of perfect blitz in the meantime.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media
Speaker 1: dot com That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
Speaker 1: in touch Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.
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