WEBVTT - Stop complaining and start making a difference

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that if something bothers you see if you

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<v Speaker 1>can take some of the time and energy you might

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<v Speaker 1>spend complaining about it and try to change it. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you can't change it. We talked earlier this week of

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<v Speaker 1>the list of annoying tasks that still must be dealt with,

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<v Speaker 1>but maybe you can't change it. Because I study how

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<v Speaker 1>people use their time, I love hearing about how people

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<v Speaker 1>get into the activities that they spend their time on. Recently,

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<v Speaker 1>I heard about how an active volunteer got involved in

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<v Speaker 1>the organization she serves. She had realized she was frustrated

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<v Speaker 1>about all the problems in her community, but she just

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<v Speaker 1>talked about them without looking for sols. So, as she

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<v Speaker 1>put it, she decided it was time in her life

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<v Speaker 1>to stop complaining and start making a difference. She became

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<v Speaker 1>an active volunteer for a nonprofit that meets various needs

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<v Speaker 1>in her city. She hasn't solved all her city's problems,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, but she's made a difference in many ways

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<v Speaker 1>that she can see, which helps her feel better about

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<v Speaker 1>her community. In general, I love that in many cases

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<v Speaker 1>there are things we can actively do to solve problems.

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<v Speaker 1>Should your community do a better job about picking up

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<v Speaker 1>trash in public spaces? Sure? Can you also organize a

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<v Speaker 1>small group to come in with trash bags and make

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<v Speaker 1>things look better? Oh? Perhaps you could. At work, you

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<v Speaker 1>might be able to make a difference in all sorts

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<v Speaker 1>of ways. For instance, if it bothers you that your

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<v Speaker 1>workplace does not do much to mark new babies, marriages, retirements, days,

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<v Speaker 1>new hires, departures, and so forth, you could organize a

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<v Speaker 1>team of people who do just that. If it irks

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<v Speaker 1>you that your team doesn't share agendas, you could offer

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<v Speaker 1>to draft them. You can offer to be a timekeeper

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<v Speaker 1>for meetings at home. You can obviously make a difference too.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you wish dinner conversations were more exciting? Think in

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<v Speaker 1>advance about a few topics currently on your family member's

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<v Speaker 1>minds and figure out questions to invite conversation about them.

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<v Speaker 1>Or buy a box of table topics cards so you

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<v Speaker 1>can take turns drawing a card with a question to

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<v Speaker 1>spark conversation. We can even decide to stop complaining and

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<v Speaker 1>do something about aspects of our health. Again, not all

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<v Speaker 1>problems are solvable, or maybe even most of them, but

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<v Speaker 1>some might be. When I got fed up enough about

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<v Speaker 1>my chronic sore throats a few years ago, I did

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<v Speaker 1>some research and figure out what might be causing them.

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<v Speaker 1>I did some experimentation, and I'm happy to report their

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<v Speaker 1>less frequent Now. If you're having trouble sleeping, you could

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<v Speaker 1>try all the good sleep hygiene ideas and take notes

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<v Speaker 1>on any changes. If that doesn't work, you can see

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<v Speaker 1>a sleep specialist and see what you can come up with.

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<v Speaker 1>Complaining takes energy, and probably the people around you are

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<v Speaker 1>going to get tired of hearing it. Eventually. You may

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<v Speaker 1>as well use some of that time and energy to

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<v Speaker 1>seek out solutions. Again, not everything that we might complain

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<v Speaker 1>about has an obvious solution, or at least not one

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<v Speaker 1>that we in particular can put into practice. I Am

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<v Speaker 1>not going to be able to change the format of

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<v Speaker 1>various tax paperwork or anything like that. But sometimes there

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<v Speaker 1>is a solution within our grasp. If so, making a

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<v Speaker 1>difference might just be possible, and then you can reap

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<v Speaker 1>the rewards for a while to come. 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. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.