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 that you don't need to hold your applause
Speaker 1: till the end. Celebrate success before it even happens, and
Speaker 1: you may help make success more likely. So many of
Speaker 1: us are accustomed to cheering after big things, but there
Speaker 1: are plenty of circumstances when people actually cheer first. If
Speaker 1: you live in a city with a beloved sports team,
Speaker 1: you know the feeling when the announcer introduces the starting lineup.
Speaker 1: The crowd roars with enthusiasm as the player's names are
Speaker 1: called and they run onto the court. Or maybe you
Speaker 1: have heard Taylor Swift in concert. Everybody cheers and screams
Speaker 1: as soon as she sets on stage. I mean they
Speaker 1: cheer even before she's gotten anywhere near the stage. Yo
Speaker 1: Yoma's fans do the same thing, perhaps with a bit
Speaker 1: more applause and a bit less shrieking, but the exuberance
Speaker 1: is no different. In those moments. We are on the
Speaker 1: players or performer's side. We know they are going to
Speaker 1: be amazing, and we are so excited to be in
Speaker 1: their presence and see what they are about to do.
Speaker 1: It feels pretty cool to be part of a crowd
Speaker 1: like that, and I can only imagine that when you
Speaker 1: are the one being cheered for, it is energizing and
Speaker 1: confidence building. So this got me thinking, what if we
Speaker 1: made it a habit to cheer first? What if we
Speaker 1: started from the assumption that a performance will be wonderful
Speaker 1: and worth celebrating. How powerful would it be to offer
Speaker 1: a metaphorical standing ovation before the person takes the first step.
Speaker 1: So many kids and adults, or what some might call
Speaker 1: insecure overachievers. They believe their worth depends upon a good performance.
Speaker 1: They worry they won't do well enough. So why not
Speaker 1: put them at ease by cheering first? Show them that
Speaker 1: you believe they are going to do great things, like
Speaker 1: the crowd at the Taylor Swift and Yo Yoma concerts.
Speaker 1: Show them that you are with them and for them,
Speaker 1: like the fans at an Eagles game. You can do
Speaker 1: this for kids before they play a sports game, or
Speaker 1: give a live performance or take a test. If you
Speaker 1: are the teacher or a coach or a parent, that
Speaker 1: might mean expressing confidence in their hard work and skills
Speaker 1: and anticipation for all the great things they are about
Speaker 1: to do, and we don't have to just do this
Speaker 1: for kids. You could cheer for a new hire on
Speaker 1: their first day of work. Let them know how thrilled
Speaker 1: you are that they are on your team, how grateful
Speaker 1: you are for their skills and experiences they're bringing. This
Speaker 1: is going to be awesome. You can cheer first for
Speaker 1: a waiter from the moment you sit down at a
Speaker 1: restaurant you love. Tell the person how happy you are
Speaker 1: to be there and how much you look forward to
Speaker 1: the night, and appreciate their role in making it special.
Speaker 1: When we start from the position that a person is
Speaker 1: already worthy and deserving of celebration, we put them at ease.
Speaker 1: We let them know that we are on their side,
Speaker 1: and by boosting their confidence, we may help position them
Speaker 1: to do their best to perform at a level that
Speaker 1: we and they will want to celebrate. Now. Of course,
Speaker 1: not everything we do involves other people and their potential cheering.
Speaker 1: I will admit I wish I had a cheering squad
Speaker 1: in my office when I walk in each morning. Wouldn't
Speaker 1: that be great? Alas they haven't seemed to shown up yet.
Speaker 1: But maybe there are ways we can cheer for ourselves first. Too.
Speaker 1: Maybe that means starting work by focusing on the top
Speaker 1: three priorities we know we will want to have accomplished
Speaker 1: by the end of the day. Maybe some days we
Speaker 1: cheer for something more modest, like the fact that we
Speaker 1: made it to work despite a lot of obstacles on
Speaker 1: a day it would have been easier to stay home.
Speaker 1: How About a pat on the back, you did it,
Speaker 1: You are amazing. Cheer for yourself, maybe even play a
Speaker 1: cheering soundtrack. There is so much power in knowing we
Speaker 1: are capable and supported and worthy of celebration. So as
Speaker 1: you go through your day today, look for opportunities to
Speaker 1: cheer first, to express support, even before someone takes the
Speaker 1: first step. If you do, you and they may have
Speaker 1: even more to cheer or later 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,