WEBVTT - Come to our table

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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 to invite people to share meals with you.

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<v Speaker 1>You have to eat, so you may as well use

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<v Speaker 1>the opportunity to connect. An essay in the most recent

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<v Speaker 1>World Happiness Report claimed that sharing meals with others is

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<v Speaker 1>related to subjective well being and that people who share

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<v Speaker 1>meals with others have higher levels of life satisfaction and

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<v Speaker 1>positive effect. But according to the essay, we're sharing meals

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<v Speaker 1>with others less frequently than we used to. The American

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<v Speaker 1>Time You survey finds that one in four Americans reported

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<v Speaker 1>eating all their meals alone the previous day, up three

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<v Speaker 1>percent since two thousand and three. If people who eat

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<v Speaker 1>together tend to be happier, and fewer Americans are eating

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<v Speaker 1>together these days, no wonder a lot of people report

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<v Speaker 1>being unhappy or disconnected. Now, to be sure, it's not

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely certain what direction that association goes. Perhaps when people

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<v Speaker 1>are unhappy, no one wants to eat with them, and

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<v Speaker 1>so it's not the shared meal that's causing happiness. But

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<v Speaker 1>it's also pretty easy to share meals with people. And

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<v Speaker 1>given that you have to eat. You might use meals

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<v Speaker 1>as an occasion to bring more people into your life regularly.

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<v Speaker 1>In most cases, you and they will be happy that

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<v Speaker 1>you did. For instance, maybe your elderly neighbor or the

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<v Speaker 1>college student who rents the house next years might want

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<v Speaker 1>to join your family for dinner some night. It doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>have to be a fancy dinner party. My guess is

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<v Speaker 1>that they would be absolutely fine with the same posts

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<v Speaker 1>you are feeding your kids. Your work friend might be

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<v Speaker 1>happy to stop by after work to have pizza with

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<v Speaker 1>your family. Your yoga buddy might like to stop by

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<v Speaker 1>your house after class on Saturday for coffee and muffins.

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<v Speaker 1>Or you might build in something more regular. I know

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<v Speaker 1>some people who have potluck dinners on Sundays for friends

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<v Speaker 1>that become a major source of joy in their lives.

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<v Speaker 1>Everyone brings a dish and has something fun to look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to on Sunday evening, which wards off the Sunday

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<v Speaker 1>scarries for a few more hours. If you are on

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<v Speaker 1>the receiving end of invitations, well, don't hesitate to accept.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure there will be moments of awkwardness and you might

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<v Speaker 1>have to suspend your healthy eating practices for a night,

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<v Speaker 1>but the boosting connection and happiness may be worth it.

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<v Speaker 1>Even at work, you can regularly share meals with others.

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<v Speaker 1>If your office has a culture where some people eat

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<v Speaker 1>together in the breakroom or cafeteria, try to join in.

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<v Speaker 1>Can I join you works perfectly fine as an opening line.

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<v Speaker 1>Hopefully this is not the middle school cafeteria where this

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<v Speaker 1>would be an issue, and if your office doesn't have

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<v Speaker 1>that culture, you could try starting it. This could be

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<v Speaker 1>as simple as sending a Slack or team's message saying

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<v Speaker 1>you will be eating your lunch in ten minutes in

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<v Speaker 1>the breakroom and inviting colleagues to join you. See who comes.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have a good conversation, you can do it

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<v Speaker 1>again and have others join you the next time. It

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<v Speaker 1>will grow, It will become a thing, and work will

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<v Speaker 1>start being a lot more fun. We all have to

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<v Speaker 1>eat and we need to connect, so inviting other people

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<v Speaker 1>to join you at the table can be a natural

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<v Speaker 1>and meaningful way to take any day from great to awesome.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to before breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.