WEBVTT - Make a to-love list

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to make a to love list. Write down

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<v Speaker 1>the names of the people you'd like to offer a

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<v Speaker 1>little extra attention to in the upcoming week. This will

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<v Speaker 1>nudge you to reach out and to seek opportunities to connect.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip comes courtesy the New York Times Friendship Challenge,

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<v Speaker 1>as part of their series on strengthening your friendships. They

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<v Speaker 1>recommend creating what they call a to love list. Just

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<v Speaker 1>like a to do list includes all the tasks you

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<v Speaker 1>need to do, a to love list includes all the

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<v Speaker 1>people you would like to connect with. Just as with

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<v Speaker 1>a to do list, you probably want to make this

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<v Speaker 1>list regularly. You could do it as part of whatever

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<v Speaker 1>weekly or daily planning sessions you already do. Longtime listeners

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<v Speaker 1>know that I suggest making a three category weekly priority

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<v Speaker 1>list each Friday. One of those categories is relationships, and

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<v Speaker 1>the to love list is kind of a version of that.

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<v Speaker 1>What relationships do I want to help grow in the

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<v Speaker 1>next week or so. Now, obviously, your closest friends and

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<v Speaker 1>family members are probably perpetually on the list, But just

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<v Speaker 1>as I am guessing you don't put check email on

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<v Speaker 1>the to do list because you do it all the time.

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<v Speaker 1>You might think of the to love list as people

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<v Speaker 1>you want to show a little extra affection too, beyond

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<v Speaker 1>the ordinary, either because they really need it or because

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<v Speaker 1>you haven't in a while. So while you are hopefully

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<v Speaker 1>showing your love to all your children, maybe one is

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<v Speaker 1>disappointed at not getting a big part and it can't

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<v Speaker 1>play that kid can get a star next to his

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<v Speaker 1>name on the to love list. Or maybe you just

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<v Speaker 1>look through your wedding album and realized you haven't connected

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<v Speaker 1>with an old friend in more than a year. Time

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<v Speaker 1>to add them to the list as well as for

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<v Speaker 1>what this connection looks like, it might be helpful to

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<v Speaker 1>make a note of this on your to love list.

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<v Speaker 1>For a local friend, you might suggest getting together for

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<v Speaker 1>lunch or going for a walk. If you are connecting

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<v Speaker 1>because she's having a really rough week, maybe you decide

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<v Speaker 1>to drop cookies off at her house. A far flung

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<v Speaker 1>relative might get a phone call or card. An older

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<v Speaker 1>kid might get a special Starbucks run that's a perennial

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<v Speaker 1>favorite at my house, or you go visit them first

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<v Speaker 1>in the nightly lights off roundup see you get some

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<v Speaker 1>extra time together. As with so many things in our lives,

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<v Speaker 1>a little intentionality and planning about whom we want to

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<v Speaker 1>love this week can go a long way toward making

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<v Speaker 1>our hopes into reality. We may love people all the time,

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<v Speaker 1>but actually putting them on the too Love list allows

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<v Speaker 1>both them and us to feel it. In the meantime,

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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. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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