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 to plan for kindness. Make if then plans
Speaker 1: with the young people in your life for how they'll
Speaker 1: show kindness, and consider planning for kindness in your own
Speaker 1: life as well. Today's tip comes from psychologists Julia Reverd
Speaker 1: and Sonya Leubomirski and Character Lab, a nonprofit with a
Speaker 1: mission of advancing scientific insights that help kids thrive. Among
Speaker 1: Character Labs recommendations for helping the kids in your life
Speaker 1: show kindness is to make if then plans which can
Speaker 1: help them form habits of kindness in situations they are
Speaker 1: likely to encounter again and again. Revard and Leubomirski offer
Speaker 1: the example that you might work with your child to
Speaker 1: plan to hold the door open for a person who's
Speaker 1: right behind them. They explain planning what to do in
Speaker 1: future situations can make the decisions happen more naturally when
Speaker 1: they arise. If your child has thought in advance about
Speaker 1: how they'll hold the door open any time they see
Speaker 1: someone behind them, they don't have to realize in the
Speaker 1: moment that that would be a kind thing to do,
Speaker 1: they already have a plan ready to implement. I love
Speaker 1: that it is so valuable to help kids make concrete
Speaker 1: plans for how they will handle specific situations. Then when
Speaker 1: the situation occurs, they are confident that they know just
Speaker 1: what to do. I bet you could think of all
Speaker 1: sorts of situations where children might plan for kindness, looking
Speaker 1: for kids without a playmate on the playground and asking
Speaker 1: want to play with me, or telling a teacher thank you,
Speaker 1: mister Roberts after a class. And there is a lot
Speaker 1: to be said for planning kindness in our own lives too.
Speaker 1: Now you might think some of this is just intuitive
Speaker 1: for people who are emotionally aware adults. That is why
Speaker 1: you ask people about their weekends at work, even if
Speaker 1: it is not the most pressing topic. Ever, it's about
Speaker 1: being kind and interested in other people's lives, and that's
Speaker 1: all true. But if you are like a lot of
Speaker 1: productive people, you may sometimes overlook opportunities for kindness just
Speaker 1: because you're focused on something else. A concrete, if then
Speaker 1: plan could help you notice extra opportunities for kindness without
Speaker 1: a whole lot of mental overhead. For instance, you might
Speaker 1: plan that if you arrive at a narrow place at
Speaker 1: the same time as another person, then you will smile
Speaker 1: and gesture for them to go first. If you encounter
Speaker 1: a barista at a coffee shop or a cashier at
Speaker 1: a fast casual restaurant, then you will greet them before
Speaker 1: placing your order. If there is a new hire in
Speaker 1: your department at work, then you will invite them out
Speaker 1: for lunch in the first two weeks. When we think
Speaker 1: about concrete ways we or our kids can show kindness
Speaker 1: within specific circumstances. When those circumstances arise, we know exactly
Speaker 1: what we will do that makes it easier to be
Speaker 1: kind in daily life without spending too much time worrying
Speaker 1: about it. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four then breakfast pod. You
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts
Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com That before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.