WEBVTT - Go back to school (without going back to school)

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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>This week we've been talking about tips from Gretchen Reuben,

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<v Speaker 1>the host of the podcast Happier. In particular, we've been

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<v Speaker 1>looking at tips from her most recent book, Outer Order

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<v Speaker 1>inter Calm, But today I'd like to talk about one

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<v Speaker 1>tip inspired by her first self help book, The Happiness Project.

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<v Speaker 1>This tip is about how you can go sort of

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<v Speaker 1>back to school as an adult, but without actually going

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<v Speaker 1>back to school and with all the tuition and homework

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<v Speaker 1>that entails. A great many years ago, Gretchen looked around

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<v Speaker 1>at her very good life and wondered why she didn't

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<v Speaker 1>feel blissful. She decided to undertake a year long project

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<v Speaker 1>to become happier. Each month she would examine a different

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<v Speaker 1>aspect of life and take a few concrete steps that

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<v Speaker 1>existing research suggested should improve her mood. She did not

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<v Speaker 1>become a complete bluebird. That's really just not in her temperament,

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<v Speaker 1>but at the end of the year, she did feel

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<v Speaker 1>like life felt better. In any case, it's back to

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<v Speaker 1>school season here in the US. Most districts have either

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<v Speaker 1>started classes or we'll start in the next two weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>As adults, we don't necessarily get to indulge in all

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<v Speaker 1>the school supply shopping, in the excitement mixed with trepidation

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<v Speaker 1>that novel schedules bring. But I think all of us

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<v Speaker 1>could capture the feeling of a fresh start with our

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<v Speaker 1>own school year projects. If from now until June you

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<v Speaker 1>gave yourself a self improvement project each month, what could

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<v Speaker 1>you accomplish a month? About thirty days is long enough

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<v Speaker 1>to make change possible, but short enough that you can

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<v Speaker 1>stick with the change you choose. That's one reason challenges

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<v Speaker 1>such as the whole thirty eating program are popular, and

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you do want to borrow from some existing challenges.

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<v Speaker 1>In November, for the past few years, I've participated in

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<v Speaker 1>National Novel Writing Month, where you commit to writing a

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<v Speaker 1>fifty thousand word novel in thirty days. Indeed, my time

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<v Speaker 1>management fable Juliette School of Possibilities was written almost entirely

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<v Speaker 1>in November. But you can also make up your own challenges.

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<v Speaker 1>In October, for instance, I set and met my goal

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<v Speaker 1>to read War and Peace by the end of the month.

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<v Speaker 1>Each December, I create a holiday fun list of activities

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<v Speaker 1>such as eating breakfast with Santa at Longwood Gardens, and

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<v Speaker 1>putting my kids in a Christmas pageant. These activities make

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<v Speaker 1>this season feel festive to me. In January, with the

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<v Speaker 1>energy of New Year's behind you, you might try exercising

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<v Speaker 1>every single day, or maybe you try the Dry January

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<v Speaker 1>challenge of abstaining from alcohol for a month. If you

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<v Speaker 1>play a musical instrument recreationally, you could choose a month

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<v Speaker 1>to get serious about the practicing and schedule in an

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<v Speaker 1>hour a day or at least thirty hours total over

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<v Speaker 1>the month. For improving at your craft, you could take

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<v Speaker 1>another month to write a thank you note every single day.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're serious about starting a blog or a podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>you could choose a month to create a new post

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<v Speaker 1>or episode every day. You might get romantic in February

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<v Speaker 1>and figure out a new way to show your love

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<v Speaker 1>for your partner each day. In any case, you'd probably

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<v Speaker 1>learn a lot, and you'd accomplish some interesting things. You'd

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<v Speaker 1>find new opportunities, and by June you'd probably feel like

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<v Speaker 1>you've moved forward. The equivalent of a grade in life,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps more so than in a traditional classroom. The fact

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<v Speaker 1>that adult life often lacks the structure of a classroom

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<v Speaker 1>is one thing that makes it so disorienting for some people.

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<v Speaker 1>But we can always create our own structure. Going back

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<v Speaker 1>to school with eight to nine months of projects is

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<v Speaker 1>one way to do that. So what projects will you

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<v Speaker 1>undertake this school year? You can let me know at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. 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. Yeah, hey, everybody, I'd love

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.