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 it is okay to just go
Speaker 1: through the motions, often doing something we don't really feel
Speaker 1: like we'll change how we're feeling. No need to worry
Speaker 1: about being a fake. Everyone fakes things from time to time,
Speaker 1: but sticking with stuff is how anything big happens. Today's tip,
Speaker 1: like some others this week, is inspired by Tara Schuster's
Speaker 1: book By Yourself, The Lilies and Other Rituals to Fix
Speaker 1: your Life from someone who's been there. Tara writes that
Speaker 1: at a particular low moment in time, a friend named
Speaker 1: Eliza told her to try writing a daily gratitude list.
Speaker 1: Tara hated this idea. She was sure it wouldn't work,
Speaker 1: and so, partially to prove my point that Eliza was wrong,
Speaker 1: and partially because I was at a low point where
Speaker 1: I was willing to try anything, I decided to test
Speaker 1: her ridiculous idea. I seethed through a smile. I made
Speaker 1: an agreement with myself. I'd write a morning gratitude list
Speaker 1: every day for a month, and when it didn't work,
Speaker 1: I could say something condescending to Eliza and feel self
Speaker 1: righteous and sure enough. Tara notes her lists from that
Speaker 1: time include such illuminating thoughts as this is such a
Speaker 1: waste of time and you're not grateful for any of this, liar,
Speaker 1: And she wasn't. She didn't really feel much gratitude at all,
Speaker 1: but she forced herself to just keep doing it, and
Speaker 1: slowly it helped her start pulling herself out of her punk.
Speaker 1: I have now been writing a daily gratitude list for
Speaker 1: nine years, she says. Every morning, as a part of
Speaker 1: my journaling, I write down ten things I am grateful for.
Speaker 1: If I can't come up with something, I fake it,
Speaker 1: write down something silly and don't worry too much about it.
Speaker 1: It adds up over time. The practice of writing thirty
Speaker 1: two thousand eight fifty things I am grateful for has
Speaker 1: made me aware of just how lucky I am. As
Speaker 1: she says, I am pretty sure I just faked gratitude
Speaker 1: until I became truly grateful. And you know what, that's
Speaker 1: totally fine. It's fine for many things in life. This
Speaker 1: is Laura talking here. The phrase going through the motions
Speaker 1: has a negative connotation. Someone is doing something that they
Speaker 1: don't really feel, But so what. There is nothing wrong
Speaker 1: with doing something good and that you know will be helpful,
Speaker 1: even if you don't really feel like it. Maybe you
Speaker 1: are angry at your partner, but you decide to act
Speaker 1: loving and courteous anyway, and shockingly, the other person responds
Speaker 1: lovingly to you being loving and starts to repair things.
Speaker 1: Maybe you don't feel like exercising, but you just go
Speaker 1: for a walk because you said you would every day
Speaker 1: with a colleague who is trying to get in shape,
Speaker 1: and sure enough, you feel better afterwards. Maybe you don't
Speaker 1: feel particularly gung ho about religion at the moment, but
Speaker 1: your family expects you to go to your house of worship.
Speaker 1: You do, and you feel better after the service. Maybe
Speaker 1: not anymore like you believe anything, but you feel more
Speaker 1: connected to your community, and that can be fine on
Speaker 1: its own. We can't feel perfectly motivated and authentic all
Speaker 1: the time, but when we keep with the practices of
Speaker 1: a positive life, often are feelings catch up with our actions.
Speaker 1: Act the way you want to feel, and eventually you
Speaker 1: might feel that way, and maybe even if not, you
Speaker 1: are better off. Then if you don't do the positive actions,
Speaker 1: they keep you invested in life. So go through the motions.
Speaker 1: Tara went through the motions of writing her list, and
Speaker 1: she did over thirty plus entries. Feel grateful. It makes sense.
Speaker 1: The practice creates its own momentum. In the meantime. This
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media
Speaker 1: dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I
Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite show. Wall I Ain't Get