WEBVTT - Be kind to your future self

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Today's tip is to be

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<v Speaker 1>nice to your future self. Have you ever had the

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<v Speaker 1>experience of looking at what's on your calendar for the

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<v Speaker 1>week and saying, Oh, my goodness, why did I agree

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<v Speaker 1>to this? What on earth was I thinking? Maybe it's

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<v Speaker 1>something that is theoretically interesting, your fun, but you've just

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<v Speaker 1>got so much going on right now, and you're committed

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<v Speaker 1>to this thing, and so you are kicking yourself for

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<v Speaker 1>saying yes. Does this sounds familiar? Well, if you're human,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm betting it does. I've spent a lot of time

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about why exactly we agree to things. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that what happens is that it's hard to say no.

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<v Speaker 1>And the further something is in the future, the more

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<v Speaker 1>we feel like we're assigning it to a completely different person.

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<v Speaker 1>We're telling ourselves, oh, June, it will never be June,

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<v Speaker 1>or perhaps the conversation with yourself goes something like this, Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>June me won't be busy. June me is going to

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<v Speaker 1>have tons of time. I mean, you do look at

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<v Speaker 1>your June calendar and it looks pretty clear at the moment, right, So, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>June me can totally do this. But here's the thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Come June, you're going to be the exact same person

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<v Speaker 1>you are now. You're going to be just as busy.

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<v Speaker 1>You're gonna have just as much going on, only now

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<v Speaker 1>you will also have this other commitment that you are

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<v Speaker 1>lukewarm about in March, stacked onto the pile. So here's

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<v Speaker 1>a better question to ask yourself. When you are asked

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<v Speaker 1>to do something in the future. Would I do this tomorrow? Now?

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<v Speaker 1>Of course you protest, I'm busy tomorrow. I'm booked up

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<v Speaker 1>solid tomorrow, which is somewhat the point because you will

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<v Speaker 1>be in June as well, But consider this, would you

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<v Speaker 1>be tempted to move stuff around or cancel things in

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<v Speaker 1>order to fit in this new opportunity? If you would, awesome,

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<v Speaker 1>You're gonna be just as excited in June. So go

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<v Speaker 1>ahead and say yes. I promise you won't be kicking

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<v Speaker 1>yourself about it. But if the answer is absolutely not,

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<v Speaker 1>no way, would I ever take this on for tomorrow,

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<v Speaker 1>probably that should be your answer for June two, because

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<v Speaker 1>when we think about tomorrow, we can think rationally about

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<v Speaker 1>the opportunity costs in a way that we just can't

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<v Speaker 1>for days that are far in the future. When you're

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<v Speaker 1>asked to do something. The question you should ask yourself

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<v Speaker 1>is not am I free? Which is often the question

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<v Speaker 1>that we're asking ourselves about things that occur many months

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<v Speaker 1>from now. The question is is this a better use

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<v Speaker 1>of my time than the other things I could be

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<v Speaker 1>doing tomorrow? You know exactly what you could be doing,

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<v Speaker 1>you know exactly what else is on your plate, and

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<v Speaker 1>you know just how much energy you'll have in a

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<v Speaker 1>way that it's really hard to picture for the future.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's some additional motivation for being more careful with the

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<v Speaker 1>word yes. If you say yes to stuff that's only

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<v Speaker 1>a four or five on a ten point scale, you're

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<v Speaker 1>gonna be too busy to say yes to the things

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<v Speaker 1>that are a nine or a ten. You'll already be

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<v Speaker 1>committed to stuff, and so you won't be able to

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<v Speaker 1>take on some great new opportunity, and that would be

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<v Speaker 1>a shame. So what low value thing are you going

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<v Speaker 1>to say no to today? What four or five point

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<v Speaker 1>thing are you going to decide just shouldn't be in

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<v Speaker 1>your life in the future. Let's say no and free

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<v Speaker 1>up space for a ten. This is Laura, Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>everybody got a tip or a question. You can share

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<v Speaker 1>them with me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast Pod. That's be the number four then Breakfast p

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<v Speaker 1>o D. You can also email me at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast at iHeart media dot com. For the email, just

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<v Speaker 1>spell those words out. I look forward to connecting and

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<v Speaker 1>learning how you make the most of your time.