1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: tip is to use literature to expand your horizons, especially 4 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: if you are in a phase of life where your 5 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: opportunities for bigger adventures are limited. Books can be a 6 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: portal to other experiences and can make life feel fuller 7 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: no matter what else is going on. Today's tip comes 8 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: from Shigahiro Oishi. He's a psychology professor at the University 9 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: of Chicago who studies well being, and he's the author 10 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 1: of the book Life in Three Dimensions, How curiosity, exploration, 11 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: and experience make a fuller, better Life. Recently, on the 12 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: Happiness Lab podcast, she described a bookseller who said that 13 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 1: he had read four thousand books, so he had led 14 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,680 Speaker 1: four thousand lives. I love that when we step inside 15 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: a book, or for that matter, watch a really good 16 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: movie or a play, we can be transported to another 17 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: person's experiences, thoughts, and feelings for a while. We live 18 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:27,199 Speaker 1: where they live. What happens to them happens to us. 19 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: We step inside their experiences and share their emotions. Whatever 20 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,959 Speaker 1: the specifics of your daily life, you can add what 21 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: ois she calls psychological richness by reading. As he puts it, 22 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: this lets you broaden your life by proxy. Your life 23 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: is not only as big as the experiences you yourself have. 24 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: Your life expands to encompass the experiences you read about two. 25 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: I find this a comforting thought, particularly as I ponder 26 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: how much to the world and how many experiences most 27 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: of us will never have. I will never be a 28 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: professional ballerina or opera singer or basketball player. But I 29 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: can read the memoirs of people who have had these 30 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: careers and see what their lives are like. Perhaps I'll 31 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: live abroad someday, but I lived in say, Paris for 32 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: a year. That means I probably wouldn't be living in 33 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: Tuscany for a year as well, or Norway for a year, 34 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: or near Yellowstone National Park for a year. But I 35 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: can read novels set in these places, or read the 36 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 1: biographies of people who have had those experiences. I know 37 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: for sure I will never live among the aristocracy in 38 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: nineteenth century Russia, but I can read Tolstoy and see 39 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: what that life is like. Even the longest books tend 40 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: not to take more than a few hours to read. Okay, 41 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: War in Peace might be more like thirty hours, but 42 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: even that would be doable in an hour a day 43 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: over a month. The six hours it takes to read 44 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: a novel set in Paris is less time than it 45 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: would even take to fly to Paris from the east 46 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: coast of the US, to say nothing of the cost. Now, 47 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: of course, I want people to travel to lots of places, 48 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,359 Speaker 1: but during many phases of life that might be less possible. 49 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: Money might be tight. Maybe you have lots of little kids, 50 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: Maybe you are caring for a family member with complex 51 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: medical needs. Sometimes these situations can even prevent you from 52 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: meeting lots of different people with different points of view 53 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: and experiences. But that doesn't mean life has to be 54 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: completely limited. After all, four thousand books can give you 55 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: a glimpse at four thousand lives. That's a lot of adventure, 56 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: even if other sorts of adventures aren't possible. In the meantime, 57 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 58 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. 59 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach 60 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast 61 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, 62 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 63 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.