1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to create a praise file. This is 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: a list of testimonials about your good work that you 5 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: can look at whenever you're feeling down when it comes 6 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: to life. Sometimes you're on top of the world. Sometimes, unfortunately, 7 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: life can kick you in the teeth. Nothing is going 8 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: right at work or at home. Other people might be 9 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: disappointed in you. Even worse, you might be disappointed in yourself. 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 1: This is inevitable because we're all human. But the good 11 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: news is you can prepare yourself for such mental thunderstorms. 12 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: My favorite way to do this is to create what 13 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: I call a praise file. When someone sends you an 14 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: email that makes you smile, don't just thank the person, 15 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: copy the nice part of the note and pay stit 16 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:02,160 Speaker 1: into a document that you can keep on your phone 17 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,119 Speaker 1: or laptop. You can also print the note if you're 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:07,240 Speaker 1: the sort of person who likes hard copies of things. 19 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,040 Speaker 1: A colleague thanks you for covering when she was in 20 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,759 Speaker 1: a jam that goes into the file. Your kids teacher 21 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: shares an example of how kind he is to other children, 22 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: that one definitely goes in there. Then when you start 23 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: to wonder what on earth you're doing with yourself and 24 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: whether you're having any impact at all, you can pull 25 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: out the file. You can read that, yes, your work, 26 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,319 Speaker 1: your professional work, and your personal work has made the 27 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: world a better place. It's hard to keep feeling unhappy 28 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: after that. So that's pretty straightforward. But here's what I 29 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 1: really love about the idea of a praise file. Once 30 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 1: you start creating one for yourself, you can't help but 31 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: think about how you could contribute to other people's praise files, 32 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: and so that nudges you to send those emails that 33 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: thank other people for their contributions to the world. You 34 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: thank your kids teacher for convincing him he could try 35 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: out for the school play. You thank your colleague for 36 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: standing up for you in that difficult meeting. This practice 37 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: of gratitude can only come from a sense of abundance. 38 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: You feel the well enough that you might not even 39 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,639 Speaker 1: need to look at the praise file quite so much. So, 40 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 1: my challenge for today create a praise file for yourself 41 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: that's ready to be filled up with examples of how 42 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: amazing you are, and then send notes to two people 43 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: that they could put in their own praise files if 44 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: they had them. They probably don't, but it doesn't matter 45 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,640 Speaker 1: whether this idea catches on or not. Thanking people is 46 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: never a waste of time. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, 47 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 48 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 49 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 50 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast to 51 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,959 Speaker 1: pod that's b E the number four, then breakfast p 52 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: o D. You can also shoot me an email at 53 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com that 54 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks 55 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before 56 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more 57 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 58 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.