Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to mix and match friends when you
Speaker 1: are planning something fun. If you like one person and
Speaker 1: you like another person, the odds that the two of
Speaker 1: them will get along are very high, so it is
Speaker 1: absolutely fine to get together with both of them at
Speaker 1: the same time. Your friends are my friends and my
Speaker 1: friends are your friends. As the song goes, and the
Speaker 1: more we get together, the happier will be. So if
Speaker 1: you were like a lot of people, you are probably
Speaker 1: spending some time actively rebuilding relationships with people you didn't
Speaker 1: see us often in the last couple of years. Spending
Speaker 1: one on one time with people is wonderful, but especially
Speaker 1: when we are talking about people that we like but
Speaker 1: haven't been best friends with for decades. This re establishment
Speaker 1: of relationships doesn't have to be a one at a
Speaker 1: time endeavor. Instead, why not get together with two or
Speaker 1: more people at once. Let's say you have two friends
Speaker 1: who love Downton Abbey but who aren't in the same
Speaker 1: social circles. One's a neighbor, one's a colleague. Why not
Speaker 1: invite both of them to go see the new movie
Speaker 1: with you. You'll get to catch up with both of them,
Speaker 1: and you'll all get to watch a movie you want
Speaker 1: to see. They'll both get to meet someone new with
Speaker 1: whom they have at least one thing in common. Want
Speaker 1: to run a five k benefiting a charity you volunteer for.
Speaker 1: Why not invite your volunteer colleague and your running body
Speaker 1: to run it with you. No worries if they only
Speaker 1: know each other vaguely or even not at all. It's
Speaker 1: just a run and they'll get to know each other
Speaker 1: better along the way. Plus you will probably get to
Speaker 1: know the two of them better, since the chemistry is
Speaker 1: different when we have different people in the mix. I
Speaker 1: recently read an article in The New York Times that
Speaker 1: captured what a thrill it is as our world's broaden
Speaker 1: again to run into people with whom we have weak ties.
Speaker 1: Your best friend's work friend, your mom's neighbor, your jim
Speaker 1: buddy's sister, and so forth. People you might see when
Speaker 1: you're at bigger get togethers, or you happen to cross
Speaker 1: paths with, but you wouldn't reach out to directly. Weak
Speaker 1: ties may help us find jobs or partners, and these
Speaker 1: people may share information with us that are strong ties
Speaker 1: can't simply because our strong ties know the same things
Speaker 1: and people we do. But even beyond all that, running
Speaker 1: into weak ties creates more variety and delight in daily life.
Speaker 1: So consider a writing more than one friend on the
Speaker 1: next outing you plan. You can create novelty for your
Speaker 1: friends by mixing and matching people for your get togethers,
Speaker 1: and you could see more people you love without going
Speaker 1: out more than your schedule or budget allows. Your friends
Speaker 1: are my friends. Even on the off chance that something
Speaker 1: strange happens and there's a little friction between two of
Speaker 1: your friends who hail from different social circles, my guess
Speaker 1: is that if you like both of them, they are
Speaker 1: both well behaved enough to deal with it, it will
Speaker 1: be fine for a few hours. There's very little downside
Speaker 1: and a lot of upside if you take the chance.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: 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 the number four. Then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.