WEBVTT - Try something scary

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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 try something scary. Getting out of

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<v Speaker 1>your comfort zone makes time feel more intense and can

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<v Speaker 1>even make time appear to move slowly. Given how life

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<v Speaker 1>seems to speed by as we get older, that can

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<v Speaker 1>be a very good thing. Now. I'm not a particularly

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<v Speaker 1>brave person, but from time to time I forced myself

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<v Speaker 1>to do something that I think will make a good memory.

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<v Speaker 1>My first real roller coaster expedition, Everest in Disney's Animal Kingdom,

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<v Speaker 1>happened because my ten year old nephew wanted to go

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<v Speaker 1>on it and needed it an adult to go with him.

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<v Speaker 1>It turns out roller coasters are quite fun, which makes sense.

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<v Speaker 1>Why else would people wait hours in line for rides

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<v Speaker 1>if they weren't exciting. I'm quite scared of heights, but

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<v Speaker 1>I once went on a zip line tour of the

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<v Speaker 1>rainforest Canopy in Nicaragua because well, I was there and

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<v Speaker 1>it was certainly going to be a unique way to

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<v Speaker 1>see a part of the environment that I could not

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<v Speaker 1>see from the ground. Public speaking deserves a category of

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<v Speaker 1>its own here. I know it's one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>common fears. I grew up wanting to be a writer,

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<v Speaker 1>and happily enough, I became one. But I soon realized

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<v Speaker 1>that one of the best ways to make a living

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<v Speaker 1>as a writer, both in terms of growing your audience

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<v Speaker 1>and bringing in income, is to go around talking about

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<v Speaker 1>the topic of your book. My first public speaking experiences

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<v Speaker 1>were horrific, but I forced myself to keep doing it

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<v Speaker 1>because not doing so would limit my potential audience. I

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<v Speaker 1>decided to force myself to keep improving as well. The

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<v Speaker 1>first time I gave a speech without notes or slides,

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<v Speaker 1>I was petrified about how it would go. Hundreds of

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<v Speaker 1>people were going to spend forty five minutes staring at

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<v Speaker 1>just me. But I did it and felt so much

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<v Speaker 1>more connected to the audience that now I rarely use

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<v Speaker 1>power point unless my hosts insist on it. Facing our

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<v Speaker 1>fears builds resilience and opens up all sorts of opportunities. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I will say that there is a difference between purposefully

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<v Speaker 1>getting outside of your comfort zone and doing something unpleasant

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<v Speaker 1>just to do so. I know some people believe we

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<v Speaker 1>should intentionally do unpleasant things like take cold showers in

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<v Speaker 1>order to toughen ourselves up. But I don't think most

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<v Speaker 1>people's lives are so easy that they have to artificially

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<v Speaker 1>engineer difficult moments just to experience them. Life throws all

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of difficult things our way, with or without our consent. Childbirth,

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<v Speaker 1>setting in an e er with a sick kid, if

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<v Speaker 1>you've calmed yourself through contractions, or through cancer treatments, or

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<v Speaker 1>through watching a loved one being wheeled into surgery, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think you need to take cold showers just to

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<v Speaker 1>prove you're tough. I'm more talking about trying scary things,

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<v Speaker 1>things outside your comfort zone that you suspect will open

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<v Speaker 1>up new possibilities. Giving a speech is scary, but it

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<v Speaker 1>will advance your career. Lobbying for a promotion is scary,

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<v Speaker 1>but if you get it, you'll be able to use

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<v Speaker 1>your talents on a bigger stage. If you don't get it,

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<v Speaker 1>your company has learned that you want to advance, and

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<v Speaker 1>often that nudges you towards the top of the list

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<v Speaker 1>for the next time. Traveling solo is scary, but it

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<v Speaker 1>means you learn about the world and can go places

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<v Speaker 1>even if no one you know is up for the trip.

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<v Speaker 1>Learning to swim or serve, for ride a bike as

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<v Speaker 1>an adult is scary, but it opens up amazing recreational

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities that won't happen if you stay comfortable. And here's

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<v Speaker 1>an added benefit. Taking risks builds memories. I've studied how

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<v Speaker 1>we perceive time, and one explanation for why time seems

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<v Speaker 1>to go faster as we get older is that so

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<v Speaker 1>much is just the same over and over again. We

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<v Speaker 1>commute to work the same way, We do the same things,

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<v Speaker 1>so our brain doesn't bother remembering it. But think back

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<v Speaker 1>to high school or college. Didn't those years seem longer

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<v Speaker 1>than the past four years of your life. Part of

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<v Speaker 1>this is that as a young person, you are figuring

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<v Speaker 1>out your life. You put yourself in new situations, and

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<v Speaker 1>you learn things as you took risks with first loves,

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<v Speaker 1>first jobs, first realizations that the adults around you didn't

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<v Speaker 1>actually have everything figured out. You will definitely remember the

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<v Speaker 1>first time you give a speech. You will remember the preparation,

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<v Speaker 1>the moments before, what the space where you are waiting

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<v Speaker 1>looks like. You will remember taking the stage and seeing

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<v Speaker 1>so many faces staring at you. None of this disappears

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<v Speaker 1>into a memory sinkhole. And while it's difficult. That's a

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<v Speaker 1>good thing because life feels more full the more memories

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<v Speaker 1>we develop. So what fficult thing will you try and

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<v Speaker 1>service of a larger purpose? How will you step outside

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<v Speaker 1>your comfort zone? Look for an opportunity this week and

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<v Speaker 1>see what happens in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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