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 make your own magic. If there is
Speaker 1: something special you would like to see happen in your life,
Speaker 1: you don't have to wait around hoping it will happen.
Speaker 1: You can make it happen yourself. Today's tip comes from
Speaker 1: Kate Strickler, author of the book I Just Wish I
Speaker 1: had a bigger kitchen and Other Lies I Think will
Speaker 1: make Me Happy. Kate was a guest on my other podcast,
Speaker 1: Best of Both Worlds, and she talked with my co
Speaker 1: host Sarah Hart Hunger about how to avoid comparing yourself
Speaker 1: to others in ways that are highly likely to make
Speaker 1: you miserable. Sometimes people feel discouraged because they think that
Speaker 1: others have more active social lives or more satisfying friendships
Speaker 1: than they do, and you know what, they might. But
Speaker 1: if you want to spend more time socializing and connecting,
Speaker 1: you are best off not viewing these activities as magical
Speaker 1: things that simply appear in people's lives. You don't have
Speaker 1: to wait for others to invite you to do things. Instead,
Speaker 1: Kate advises, make your own magic, as in, you can
Speaker 1: invite people to do whatever you are hoping others will
Speaker 1: invite you to do. If you want to go out
Speaker 1: for brunch with friends, pick a date, pick a restaurant,
Speaker 1: and text a handful of people you would enjoy spending
Speaker 1: time with. Hopefully you will be able to rally a
Speaker 1: few folks to join. Or maybe you've always thought it
Speaker 1: would be fun to be in a book club. You
Speaker 1: don't have to plan a year long curriculum and schedule
Speaker 1: get botherings for every fourth Wednesday from now to the
Speaker 1: end of time, though, If that is your style, feel
Speaker 1: free to go for it. For a lot of us,
Speaker 1: it would be easiest just to ask a few book
Speaker 1: loving friends if they would like to come over in
Speaker 1: a few weeks to discuss good people with you, then
Speaker 1: see what unfolds from there. If you've got an old
Speaker 1: friend that you don't see often, suggest meeting up for
Speaker 1: a drink one night after work. Suggest three nights or
Speaker 1: so in the next few weeks, and hopefully one will
Speaker 1: work for your friend. If not, my guess is that
Speaker 1: your invitation will spark something in your friend's brain. Chances
Speaker 1: are he or she will suggest a different get together
Speaker 1: in the next few weeks. It kind of is like
Speaker 1: magic that way. You can make your own magic romantically too.
Speaker 1: Do you wish your partner would send you flowers? If
Speaker 1: it's flowers, you want, buy some for yourself. And if
Speaker 1: it is, what's the act of your partner sending you flowers?
Speaker 1: Then let your partner know that is your desire. If
Speaker 1: you are dreaming of a fabulous anniversary dinner, make a reservation.
Speaker 1: You can also make your own magic at work. Maybe
Speaker 1: you wish your team socialized more. Guess what you have
Speaker 1: the power to make this happen. Stick your head in
Speaker 1: your colleague's offices when you're headed to the break room
Speaker 1: to eat your lunch. Invite them to join you. After
Speaker 1: a department meeting, you might ask if anyone would be
Speaker 1: up for a happy hour that night. Invite new or
Speaker 1: younger colleagues out to coffee to share tips on how
Speaker 1: the office works. Many of these people will turn into friends.
Speaker 1: If you want to travel but don't have a ready
Speaker 1: travel companion, travel solo. You can also participate in a
Speaker 1: group trip, like with your college alumni association or various
Speaker 1: commercial companies. If you have got the time and the money,
Speaker 1: don't let other people's willingness to go be the limiting factor.
Speaker 1: You can make your own magic. With all sorts of
Speaker 1: things in life, if you want something special, you can
Speaker 1: plan it in yourself. I mean, you can hope that
Speaker 1: someone else will plan it, but if so, you might
Speaker 1: be waiting for a while. Whereas if you make your
Speaker 1: own magic, the magic will happen, and I think that
Speaker 1: is a better outcome. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.