WEBVTT - Is this sustainable?

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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 ask yourself what is sustainable? Could

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<v Speaker 1>you keep doing what you are doing for the long haul?

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<v Speaker 1>A steady, sustainable pace will take you further than a

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<v Speaker 1>sprint that can only last for so long, and the

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<v Speaker 1>long run is where most things happen. On my other podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>Best of Both Worlds, my co host Sarah and I

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<v Speaker 1>recently took a question from a listener who was taking

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<v Speaker 1>up running. She found it hard to get motivated when

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<v Speaker 1>she couldn't run for very long. Our biggest advice to

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<v Speaker 1>her was to just slow down. So many novice runners

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<v Speaker 1>think of running as sprinting, which is impossible to sustain

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<v Speaker 1>for more than a little bit. A slow, conversational pace

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<v Speaker 1>is much more doable, and at the beginning it might

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<v Speaker 1>only be doable for a few minutes, but then you

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<v Speaker 1>can take a walk break of a few minutes and

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<v Speaker 1>try again. Over the course of a few months, you

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<v Speaker 1>can gradually extend your slow running stretches until you can

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<v Speaker 1>do a mile, and then two miles, and then three.

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<v Speaker 1>If you can run three miles, which is about a

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<v Speaker 1>five k, then congrats, you are a distance runner. You

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<v Speaker 1>have built that ability up through slow, sustainable progress. So

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<v Speaker 1>it is with anything people can do sprints toward deadlines,

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<v Speaker 1>but in the long run you can't sustain a working

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<v Speaker 1>pace and which everything is a sprint. If you generally

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<v Speaker 1>need to work long hours, better to figure out what

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<v Speaker 1>is a sustainable way to do that for many people

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<v Speaker 1>that might be working quite late one to two nights

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<v Speaker 1>per week and then having a normal life the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of the time. You should also think about long term

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<v Speaker 1>sustainability before you start any new commitment. Could you keep

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<v Speaker 1>doing this forever? I am thinking here of Let's say

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<v Speaker 1>a manager who gets the brilliant idea as a new

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<v Speaker 1>year's resolution of writing birthday letters to every team member

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<v Speaker 1>with lengthy accounts of what makes him or her so special.

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<v Speaker 1>The January letters are fantastic, then Februaries letters are a

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<v Speaker 1>little late and a lot shorter. And Marches is the

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<v Speaker 1>last minute resented matter as things get busy, and that

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<v Speaker 1>march direct report this feeling miffed. Much better to aim

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<v Speaker 1>for just a card and a short note. But you

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<v Speaker 1>truly can sustain all year long. Now, of course, it

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<v Speaker 1>is not always obvious what is going to be sustainable

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<v Speaker 1>and what is not. People can muster great energy at

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<v Speaker 1>the start of things, and we're not always great at

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<v Speaker 1>picturing our future selves. But one way to tell is

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<v Speaker 1>if you start resenting and resisting for something to be sustainable,

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<v Speaker 1>every time you do it needs to be simple and

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<v Speaker 1>short enough that you don't feel much resistance. You are

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<v Speaker 1>probably going to resent needing to write one thousand words

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<v Speaker 1>in something every day if you are not getting paid

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<v Speaker 1>to do it. Writing a hundred words, well that's nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the length of this paragraph. You can push hard

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<v Speaker 1>and do anything for a bit, but not forever. You're

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<v Speaker 1>generally better off. If you find a pace that is

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<v Speaker 1>ambitious but sustainable for the long term, you will go further.

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<v Speaker 1>People are going to feel better about the boss that

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<v Speaker 1>reliably remembers their birthdays then the boss who one year

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<v Speaker 1>writes elaborate letters to a quarter of her direct reports

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<v Speaker 1>and forgets the rest. You are more likely to improve

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<v Speaker 1>your health running three miles three times a week, then

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<v Speaker 1>running nine miles one day, and then not running again

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<v Speaker 1>for another month. Figure out what you can keep doing,

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<v Speaker 1>and you will keep doing it. It really is as

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<v Speaker 1>simple as that. 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 for

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is

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

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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>my 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. Ye