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 to find your happy place, or create one.
Speaker 1: Whether your home is big or small, and whether you
Speaker 1: live alone or with lots of people, it's wise to
Speaker 1: find or create a spot that reliably puts you in
Speaker 1: a good mood. My family moved to a new house
Speaker 1: a few months ago, and so I've been thinking about
Speaker 1: how exactly one creates happy places. In our old home,
Speaker 1: one of my happy places was the sofa on the
Speaker 1: covered back porch. The porch was up a story from
Speaker 1: the ground, and so you could look out on the
Speaker 1: trees and feel peaceful, even if there was chaos inside
Speaker 1: the house. That porch was a lovely feature when we
Speaker 1: bought the house, but of course we actively chose to
Speaker 1: make it even better, putting an outdoor sofa there, for instance,
Speaker 1: and tending the backyard plants and trees to ensure that
Speaker 1: something lovely was blooming for big chunks of the year.
Speaker 1: Covered porches are certainly a prime spot for happy places,
Speaker 1: but happy spots can be anywhere. A chair in front
Speaker 1: of a nice window, or a window seat, a hammock
Speaker 1: or chair, swing a sofa where you can cuttle up
Speaker 1: with a good book. The good news is that if
Speaker 1: you don't have a happy place in your home, it
Speaker 1: is quite possible to create one, even if you have
Speaker 1: a small space, and even if you live with others.
Speaker 1: I think there are three main ingredients. First, you need
Speaker 1: to be comfortable, so it's probably somewhere reasonably soft where
Speaker 1: you can sit or lie down. Second, you need a
Speaker 1: pleasant view without anything in sight that nags you about
Speaker 1: work to be done. And third, it needs to be
Speaker 1: associated with pleasant things that you really like to do,
Speaker 1: an association that can become stronger with repetition and time.
Speaker 1: So let's start with physical comfort. If you don't have
Speaker 1: a cozy perch already, see if you can spruce up
Speaker 1: something you own, or just pick up a papasan chair
Speaker 1: for inside or a hammock for outside. Both are pretty
Speaker 1: affordable items. Maybe you add a soft rug to feel
Speaker 1: warm under your feet. Then concern yourself with the view.
Speaker 1: Can you turn your perch so you see a window
Speaker 1: or an attractive part of your house. You might need
Speaker 1: to do a little reorganizing to make sure you're not
Speaker 1: looking at something that looks like a to do list.
Speaker 1: Simple is better, So a wall with a picture and
Speaker 1: a plant and a pretty container will be better than
Speaker 1: a complicated bookcase or something that can get cluttered. If
Speaker 1: you are looking out the window, try to choose a
Speaker 1: view that is reasonably serene. This can be within your
Speaker 1: control over time. Put potted plants on a balcony, or
Speaker 1: you can plant some year round greenery outside to hide
Speaker 1: the view of your neighbor's ugly shed. Then, finally, try
Speaker 1: to build up the association of your perch with pleasant
Speaker 1: feelings and activities. I liked a particular chair in my
Speaker 1: old family room because that's where I sat and had
Speaker 1: my coffee in the morning. I like the outside porch
Speaker 1: sofa because that's where I would sit and read some
Speaker 1: nights after the kids went to bed. My husband would
Speaker 1: sometimes sit there too, and so I associated it with
Speaker 1: summer sounds, relaxing, and hanging out together. To truly make
Speaker 1: something into your happy place, consciously start doing something you
Speaker 1: enjoy in that spot. Do your crossword puzzle in a
Speaker 1: chosen chair, do your cross stitching in the nook by
Speaker 1: the window, Read books on the hammock or on your sofa.
Speaker 1: Maybe grab a favorite beverage appropriate for the time of day.
Speaker 1: The more you do this, the more the place will
Speaker 1: feel like your special spot. When you create a happy place,
Speaker 1: you give yourself a tool for stepping away from your
Speaker 1: problems without taking out your car keys. You can go
Speaker 1: there anytime you need to get away. Where is your
Speaker 1: happy place? You can let me know at Laura at
Speaker 1: Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart Media dot com.
Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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