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 not spread distress like germs. Sometimes it
Speaker 1: is necessary to share a concern so it can be solved,
Speaker 1: But when you are simply making conversation, whether in real
Speaker 1: life or online, steer clear from content that will result
Speaker 1: in frustration, anxiety, or anger, because who needs more of
Speaker 1: that in their lives. Today's tip comes from Oliver Berkman,
Speaker 1: author of the books Meditations for Mortals and four Thousand Weeks.
Speaker 1: In his newsletter The Imperfectionist, Berkman referred to alarmist news
Speaker 1: about AI, but explained why he wasn't linking to those
Speaker 1: articles himself. I'm not going to link to any of
Speaker 1: these contagious anxiety spreading pieces for the same reason I
Speaker 1: don't go around actively sneezing in people's faces when I
Speaker 1: catch a cold. It's a funny analogy and a wise one.
Speaker 1: It is bad enough if you have a cold, There
Speaker 1: is no reason to try to purposefully spread it to
Speaker 1: other people. And it is the same with rage bait
Speaker 1: in general. Now, certainly there are times when we have
Speaker 1: bad news or concerns that we do need to share
Speaker 1: with people, either because they might help solve it or
Speaker 1: because we need help figuring out how to respond. But
Speaker 1: if you are looking for conversation starters or content to
Speaker 1: post online op for the positive, don't go around sneezing
Speaker 1: in other people's faces. So in general, you probably don't
Speaker 1: want to share troubling news unless you pair it with
Speaker 1: constructive action that people can take. Your friends might be
Speaker 1: happier not reading the latest clickbait article about the various
Speaker 1: ailments of middle age unless you or the article itself
Speaker 1: also offer strategies for dealing with these ailments. I am
Speaker 1: pretty sure we are all tired of hearing about how
Speaker 1: AI is going to take our jobs and destroy human
Speaker 1: relationships and maybe the planet. At the same time. If
Speaker 1: you want to read articles that make you mad or stressed,
Speaker 1: that's fine, but don't assume that anyone else wants to
Speaker 1: read them. You don't want to sneeze on people with
Speaker 1: gossip about people and institutions either. For instance, it is
Speaker 1: probably not helpful to speculate about your employer's financial troubles,
Speaker 1: or to recount what your officemate said about a friend
Speaker 1: of hers who got a bad performance review, or to
Speaker 1: tell everyone you know about your cousin's neighbors daughter who
Speaker 1: make straight a's and still didn't get into any of
Speaker 1: her top ten college choices. You can keep that stressful
Speaker 1: news to yourself. I think sometimes people may share anxiety
Speaker 1: or anger inducing content because it feels good to get
Speaker 1: a reaction from other people. The anxiety or anger you
Speaker 1: are sparking is probably not any more welcome than a cold.
Speaker 1: So when you consider sharing content or news that might
Speaker 1: cause worry or frustration, ask yourself why. If there is
Speaker 1: constructive action that could come out of it. Great. It
Speaker 1: is certainly fine to ask friends to donate alongside you
Speaker 1: to a cause, or to write to leaders alongside you
Speaker 1: to try to spark change. But otherwise, if it's just
Speaker 1: engagement and reaction you are aiming for, let the sneezing
Speaker 1: stop with you. In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
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