WEBVTT - Low expectations are easy to meet

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that low expectations are easy to meet,

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<v Speaker 1>So when you are having a hard time meeting your

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<v Speaker 1>daily goals, consider adjusting them downward. You may find that

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<v Speaker 1>you accomplish more then when your goals are more ambitious.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure many people listening to this podcast have heard

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<v Speaker 1>the advice to set smart goals, ones that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic,

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<v Speaker 1>and time bound. This is wise advice sometimes though our

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<v Speaker 1>calibration of what is attainable and realistic might be a

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<v Speaker 1>little off. You may find find yourself setting goals each

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<v Speaker 1>day that seemed doable, but that you haven't achieved by

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the day. This can be discouraging. You

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<v Speaker 1>may even feel frustrated or bad about yourself. After a

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<v Speaker 1>few days or weeks of this, you may throw up

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<v Speaker 1>your hands and stop caring about your goals. If you

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<v Speaker 1>consistently fall short of your daily goals. Eventually your daily

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<v Speaker 1>goals become more like daily wishes. You wind up viewing

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<v Speaker 1>them as things that it would be nice to accomplish,

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<v Speaker 1>but that you are not necessarily expecting to get to

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<v Speaker 1>you don't hold yourself to them, your to do list

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<v Speaker 1>becomes meaningless. It is not what you are going to

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<v Speaker 1>do today, so it is just a list of stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>This is not a productive approach. Instead, when you find

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<v Speaker 1>yourself discouraged because you keep not meeting your goals, consider

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<v Speaker 1>lowering them. Ask yourself, what is the lowest reasonable expectation

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<v Speaker 1>you can set for yourself? Then aim for that. I

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<v Speaker 1>am talking really small. Instead of putting a hundred things

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<v Speaker 1>on your to do list for tomorrow, maybe put two things.

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<v Speaker 1>In the morning, you will draft an employee satisfaction survey.

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<v Speaker 1>In the afternoon, you will lead the department meeting and

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<v Speaker 1>complete the follow up. You can aim low in your

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<v Speaker 1>personal life too. On Saturday, you will not redecorate your

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<v Speaker 1>entire house. You will plant flowers in the planters on

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<v Speaker 1>the front porch. Tonight, you will not hold yourself to

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<v Speaker 1>anything other than calling your father to wish him a

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<v Speaker 1>happy birthday. You get the idea. When the only thing

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<v Speaker 1>on your to do list for tonight is to wish

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<v Speaker 1>your dad a happy birthday, how could you not get

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<v Speaker 1>that done when your only goal for tomorrow morning is

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<v Speaker 1>to draft that employee Satisfaction Survey, and that is it.

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<v Speaker 1>You are highly likely to complete it. You can meet

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<v Speaker 1>the low expectations. But here's the thing. Paradoxically, less can

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<v Speaker 1>be more. If you intended to draft the employee satisfaction

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<v Speaker 1>survey and develop a job description for a new position,

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<v Speaker 1>and create the agenda for the conference next week, and

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<v Speaker 1>write that memo about the annual review process and answer

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<v Speaker 1>the twenty emails you flagged from Tuesday, you might not

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<v Speaker 1>get to any of it. It feels overwhelming. But if

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<v Speaker 1>you are expecting to just do the survey, you will

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<v Speaker 1>do what you set out to do. And then, who knows,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe that sense of satisfaction will nudge you onward to

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<v Speaker 1>do other things or it won't, but you will still

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<v Speaker 1>be better off than if you did none of it.

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<v Speaker 1>You'll start to become more confident in your ability to

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<v Speaker 1>do the things you set out to do. You can

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<v Speaker 1>start treating your to do list as a contract with yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>When you reach that state, it can be a real breakthrough.

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<v Speaker 1>You can put some things on the list for three

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<v Speaker 1>days from now and no, they will absolutely still get done.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't feel bad that you aren't doing them today

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<v Speaker 1>because you know that whatever is on the list will happen.

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<v Speaker 1>But the only way to truly hold yourself accountable to

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<v Speaker 1>your to do list is to make it short and

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<v Speaker 1>so you want to lower your expectations. Achieving little things

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<v Speaker 1>in the short run means you can achieve big things

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<v Speaker 1>in the long run because you keep moving forward in

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,

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