WEBVTT - Second Cup: Be kind to your future self

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Today's tip is to be

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<v Speaker 1>nice to your future self. Have you ever had the

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<v Speaker 1>experience of looking at what's on your calendar for the

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<v Speaker 1>week and saying, Oh, my goodness, why did I agree

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<v Speaker 1>to this? What on earth was I thinking? Maybe it's

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<v Speaker 1>something that is theoretically interesting or fund but you've just

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<v Speaker 1>got so much going on right now and you're committed

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<v Speaker 1>to this thing, and so you are kicking yourself for

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<v Speaker 1>saying yes. Does this sound familiar? Well, if you're human,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm betting it does. I've spent a lot of time

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about why exactly we agree to things. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that what happens is that it's hard to say no.

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<v Speaker 1>And the further something is in the future, the more

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<v Speaker 1>we feel like we're assigning it to a completely different person.

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<v Speaker 1>We're telling ourselves, oh, June, it will never be June.

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<v Speaker 1>Or perhaps the conversation with yourself goes something like this, Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>June me won't be busy. June me is gonna have

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<v Speaker 1>tons of time. I mean, you do look at your

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<v Speaker 1>June calendar and it looks pretty clear at the moment, right, So, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>June me can totally do this.

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<v Speaker 2>But here's the thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Come June, you are going to be the exact same

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<v Speaker 1>person you are now. You are gonna be just as busy.

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<v Speaker 1>You're gonna have just as much going on, only now

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<v Speaker 1>you will also have this other commitment that you are

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<v Speaker 1>lukewarm about in March, stacked onto the pile. So here's

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<v Speaker 1>a better question to ask yourself. When you are asked

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<v Speaker 1>to do something in the future. Would I do this tomorrow? Now?

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<v Speaker 2>Of course you protest, I'm busy tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm booked up solid tomorrow, which is somewhat the point

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<v Speaker 1>because you will be in June as well, But consider this,

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<v Speaker 1>would you be tempted to move stuff around or cancel

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<v Speaker 1>things in order to fit in this new opportunity? If

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<v Speaker 1>you would, awesome, you're gonna be just as excited in June.

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<v Speaker 2>So go ahead and say yes. I promise you won't

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<v Speaker 2>be kicking yourself about it.

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<v Speaker 1>But if the answer is absolutely not, no way, would

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<v Speaker 1>I ever take this on for tomorrow, probably that should

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<v Speaker 1>be your answer for June two, because when we think

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<v Speaker 1>about tomorrow, we can think rationally about the opportunity costs

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<v Speaker 1>in a way that we just can't for days that

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<v Speaker 1>are far in the future. When you're asked to do something.

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<v Speaker 1>The question you should ask yourself is not am I free?

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<v Speaker 1>Which is often the question that we're asking ourselves about

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<v Speaker 1>things that occur many months from now. The question is

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<v Speaker 1>is this a better use of my time than the

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<v Speaker 1>other things I could be doing tomorrow? You know exactly

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<v Speaker 1>what you could be doing, you know exactly what else

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<v Speaker 1>is on your plate, and you know just how much

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<v Speaker 1>energy you'll have in a way that it's really hard

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<v Speaker 1>to picture for the future. Here's some additional motivation for

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<v Speaker 1>being more careful with the word yes. If you say

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<v Speaker 1>yes to stuff that's only a four or five on

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<v Speaker 1>a ten point scale, well you're going to be too

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<v Speaker 1>busy to say yes to the things that are a

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<v Speaker 1>nine or a ten.

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<v Speaker 2>You'll already be committed to stuff, and.

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<v Speaker 1>So you won't be able to take on some great

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<v Speaker 1>new opportunity, and that would be a shame. So what

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<v Speaker 1>low value thing are you going to say no to today?

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<v Speaker 1>What four or five point thing are you going to

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<v Speaker 1>decide just shouldn't be in your life.

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<v Speaker 2>In the future.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's say no and free up space for a ten.

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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.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, everybody got a tip or a question.

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<v Speaker 1>You can share them with me on Twitter, Facebook or

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<v Speaker 1>Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 2>That's b E the number four then breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also email me at Before Breakfast Podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartMedia dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>For the email, just spell those words out.

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to connecting and learning how you make

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<v Speaker 1>the most of your time.