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 change something that you've stopped seeing
Speaker 1: so much in life becomes background scenery after a while,
Speaker 1: Noticing and making a change can have a big impact
Speaker 1: on your happiness. A few years ago, a business leader
Speaker 1: who was about to be interviewed on camera in his
Speaker 1: office asked me for some advice. Aside from smiling and
Speaker 1: wearing solid colors, my biggest tip take a look around
Speaker 1: and note any piles of paper or items that he
Speaker 1: had long since stopped seeing. He might want to move
Speaker 1: those on camera. He'd see them with fresh eyes, and
Speaker 1: he might really cringe. It is so easy to stop
Speaker 1: noticing things that we see all the time. I know
Speaker 1: this is true for me. I have a very strong
Speaker 1: tendency to just make do. If something isn't broken, well,
Speaker 1: why I bother it? But I've also seen in my
Speaker 1: life that making a little change can have an outsized impact.
Speaker 1: For instance, this spring, I finally got around to changing
Speaker 1: the background on my phone. Yes, I vaguely knew that
Speaker 1: people put photos of their kids and pets on their phones,
Speaker 1: but I had never done. So then when we all
Speaker 1: began sheltering in place, I realized just how many times
Speaker 1: I was picking up my phone per day and looking
Speaker 1: at Apple's default. So I switched the photo to a
Speaker 1: lovely one I took of a blooming plum tree. The
Speaker 1: slender branches and bright pink blossoms made me smile when
Speaker 1: I first saw the photo, so I figured they did
Speaker 1: the same on my phone. They became my wallpaper. And
Speaker 1: now this mindless task I do a hundred times a day,
Speaker 1: maybe more signing into my phone becomes a little moment
Speaker 1: of beauty. You're probably not as bad as I am
Speaker 1: in this regard. I actually just took down an evergreen
Speaker 1: garland that had been up since Christmas. Whoops. But no
Speaker 1: doubt you have things that you've stopped noticing too. So today,
Speaker 1: take a look at your living spaces and take a
Speaker 1: look at your digital spaces with fresh eyes. Has that
Speaker 1: pile of magazines on your nightstand just become part of
Speaker 1: the scene like a bedside lamp. How about the items
Speaker 1: on your kitchen counter or any decorations on your car.
Speaker 1: Switch up the photos on your desk or mantle, and
Speaker 1: maybe put something inspiring as your laptop background. If you're
Speaker 1: collecting knickknacks somewhere, pause and see if the collection still
Speaker 1: amuses you or not. If not, put something else there.
Speaker 1: It only takes a little bit of time. My new
Speaker 1: phone background took about ten seconds, and it gives me
Speaker 1: a few seconds of joy every time I see it.
Speaker 1: Very few things in life have that kind of payoff.
Speaker 1: We may as well take advantage of the ones that do.
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 E 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: I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.