WEBVTT - Find something to look forward to 

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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 to always have something to look forward to.

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<v Speaker 1>Even a dark outlook can lighten with something bright on

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<v Speaker 1>the horizon. And it turns out that we have the

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<v Speaker 1>power to engineer a lot of really good future stuff

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<v Speaker 1>into our lives. Life feels better when we're always doing

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<v Speaker 1>just that. I know that planning has been well a

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<v Speaker 1>fraud topic for the past few months. Long time listeners

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<v Speaker 1>may recall that I urged everyone to plan all of

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<v Speaker 1>their vacations before the year started. Anyone who took my

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<v Speaker 1>advice has probably been doing a lot of canceling. But

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<v Speaker 1>even though plans sometimes have to change, I do think

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<v Speaker 1>there is val you in planning, and in particular, there

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<v Speaker 1>is value in planning in fun stuff. Always having something

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<v Speaker 1>to look forward to allows us to weather rough times

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<v Speaker 1>as we think of the good stuff to come. This

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<v Speaker 1>is because anticipation actually accounts for the bulk of the

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<v Speaker 1>happiness we gain from any event. One study that looked

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<v Speaker 1>at happiness and vacations found that people who were going

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<v Speaker 1>on vacations were happier than those who weren't, of course.

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<v Speaker 1>But the more interesting finding is that the biggest boost

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<v Speaker 1>in happiness came before the trip, when people imagine the

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<v Speaker 1>fun they would have in the moment. Nothing is ever

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<v Speaker 1>perfectly blissful. You can be sitting on a tropical beach

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<v Speaker 1>with the love of your life and be obsessed with

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<v Speaker 1>whether a mosquito is about to bite your leg. And

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<v Speaker 1>while that sounds like a really bad aspect of human nature,

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<v Speaker 1>you can use it to your advantage. When we plan

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<v Speaker 1>fun stuff in ahead of time, we can give ourselves

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<v Speaker 1>a constant boost. And that is true even if the

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<v Speaker 1>stuff doesn't happen, But of course it's more fun when

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<v Speaker 1>it does, and there are certainly things that can happen

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<v Speaker 1>regardless of what goes on in the rest of the world.

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<v Speaker 1>I schedule video chats with a friend and I love

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<v Speaker 1>seeing those on the calendar, same with long runs with

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<v Speaker 1>another friend. You might be able to rent a house

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere relatively nearby for a week or a long weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a day of full kid coverage as you excited,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm dreaming up places to go on a leaf peeping

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<v Speaker 1>trip this fall. I'd like to take a long bike

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<v Speaker 1>ride too. Thinking of these things has me looking forward

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<v Speaker 1>to the next few months, even if I know that

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<v Speaker 1>much is uncertain with my kids, schooling and everything else,

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<v Speaker 1>some of the days will be slogs. But if there

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<v Speaker 1>is something on my calendar that makes me feel like

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<v Speaker 1>the future will have good moments too, then I can

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<v Speaker 1>weather the slogs. I know they are not the full story.

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<v Speaker 1>So today, take a few minutes to think through some

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<v Speaker 1>genuinely enjoyable activities that you can put on your calendar.

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<v Speaker 1>What will make you smile as you think about your

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<v Speaker 1>future fun think through the logistics, call whoever you need to,

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<v Speaker 1>or make your reservations, and then be prepared for today

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<v Speaker 1>to feel a little rosier. Many a dreary day has

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<v Speaker 1>been warmed by the sun of a future vacation. When

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<v Speaker 1>you always have something to look forward to, that little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of sunshine just follows you around in the meantime.

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at before Breakfast pod. That's b the number four.

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<v Speaker 1>Then breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i

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