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 that if you're doing something for fun
Speaker 1: and it turns out not to be fun, you can stop.
Speaker 1: Just because you started doesn't mean you have to finish.
Speaker 1: I know that Before Breakfast listeners are diligent and persistent people.
Speaker 1: So my guess is that many folks listening to this
Speaker 1: have started watching a movie and then realized five minutes
Speaker 1: in that it was going to be a dud. Yet
Speaker 1: you stayed until the end. You have finished books that
Speaker 1: you didn't enjoy. You have eaten a whole order of
Speaker 1: French fries, which from the first bite was irredeemably cold
Speaker 1: and soggy. You have dutifully shown up at a book
Speaker 1: club every month, even though you dreaded it. What's funny
Speaker 1: about this is that people go to movies, read books,
Speaker 1: eat French fries, and make social plans because these things
Speaker 1: are supposed to be enjoyable. It's not like your soul
Speaker 1: was going to be elevated by that action movie, or
Speaker 1: that the French fries were going to have any nutritional value.
Speaker 1: They are supposed to be fun, full stop. So why
Speaker 1: do we continue doing things that we are supposed to
Speaker 1: enjoy if they are not enjoyable. I've thought about this
Speaker 1: a lot, and I suppose sometimes we go on autopilot.
Speaker 1: We stick with what we started because we aren't really
Speaker 1: noticing that we're not getting anything out of it. Maybe
Speaker 1: other times we are hoping against hope that it will
Speaker 1: get better eventually, that next French fry will be hot,
Speaker 1: or the next book club get together will be fun.
Speaker 1: And then sometimes we may feel guilty or embarrassed or
Speaker 1: silly that we've sunk time and money into something like
Speaker 1: maybe that Flamenco dancing class that we thought we'd like
Speaker 1: but we actually hate. But you know what, even if
Speaker 1: you have bought the shoes and paid for the lessons,
Speaker 1: you can still stop. Sunk Costs are sunk. If you
Speaker 1: are not enjoying what you are doing for enjoyment, you
Speaker 1: can walk away. Don't spend any more time in a
Speaker 1: way that you aren't enjoying. As is so often true,
Speaker 1: it is helpful to get clear on your purpose. Because,
Speaker 1: of course, there are plenty of things in life that
Speaker 1: we are obligated to persist in. You probably have to
Speaker 1: persist in your job until you can find a new one.
Speaker 1: You have to persist in a volunteer leadership role until
Speaker 1: you can find a replacement. You have to persist in
Speaker 1: parenting until your kids are grown, even if the little
Speaker 1: angels can turn into little monsters with some regularity. There
Speaker 1: are also things we choose to do for reasons beyond enjoyment.
Speaker 1: Even if you don't like to exercise, you may do
Speaker 1: it anyway to keep your heart healthy. Driving a long
Speaker 1: way to visit an elderly relative may not be fun,
Speaker 1: but you love your relative and you value family, so
Speaker 1: you do it. Perhaps you even hate chopping, but you
Speaker 1: do have to get closed somehow. There are things we
Speaker 1: do out of obligation and things we do for higher purposes.
Speaker 1: But if you are doing something for enjoyment and you
Speaker 1: are not enjoying it, then something is off. So remind
Speaker 1: yourself that it is okay not to finish. You can
Speaker 1: throw away the cold fries, you can quit the tedious
Speaker 1: book club. You can shut the bad book or walk
Speaker 1: away from the boring movie. When you are clear on
Speaker 1: your purpose, you will be able to decide what to
Speaker 1: stick with and what to let go of. Is there
Speaker 1: anything that you think you'd be better off quitting. I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear about it. You can let me know
Speaker 1: at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Acebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart
Speaker 1: media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.