WEBVTT - Create your happy place

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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 find your happy place, or create one.

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<v Speaker 1>Whether your home is big or small, and whether you

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<v Speaker 1>live alone or with lots of people, it's wise to

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<v Speaker 1>find or create a spot that reliably puts you in

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<v Speaker 1>a good mood. My family moved to a new house

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<v Speaker 1>a few months ago, and so I've been thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>how exactly one creates happy places. In our old home,

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<v Speaker 1>one of my happy places was the sofa on the

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<v Speaker 1>covered back porch. The porch was up a story from

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<v Speaker 1>the ground, and so you could look out on the

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<v Speaker 1>trees and feel peaceful, even if there was chaos inside

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<v Speaker 1>the house. That porch was a lovely feature when we

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<v Speaker 1>bought the house, but of course we actively chose to

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<v Speaker 1>make it even better, putting an outdoor sofa there, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>and tending the backyard plants and trees to ensure that

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<v Speaker 1>something lovely was blooming for big chunks of the year.

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<v Speaker 1>Covered porches are certainly a prime spot for happy places,

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<v Speaker 1>but happy spots can be anywhere. A chair in front

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<v Speaker 1>of a nice window, or a window seat, a hammock

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<v Speaker 1>or chair, swing a sofa where you can cuttle up

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<v Speaker 1>with a good book. The good news is that if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't have a happy place in your home, it

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<v Speaker 1>is quite possible to create one, even if you have

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<v Speaker 1>a small space, and even if you live with others.

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<v Speaker 1>I think there are three main ingredients. First, you need

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<v Speaker 1>to be comfortable, so it's probably somewhere reasonably soft where

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<v Speaker 1>you can sit or lie down. Second, you need a

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<v Speaker 1>pleasant view without anything in sight that nags you about

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<v Speaker 1>work to be done. And third, it needs to be

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<v Speaker 1>associated with pleasant things that you really like to do,

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<v Speaker 1>an association that can become stronger with repetition and time.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's start with physical comfort. If you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>a cozy perch already, see if you can spruce up

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<v Speaker 1>something you own, or just pick up a papasan chair

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<v Speaker 1>for inside or a hammock for outside. Both are pretty

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<v Speaker 1>affordable items. Maybe you add a soft rug to feel

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<v Speaker 1>warm under your feet. Then concern yourself with the view.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you turn your perch so you see a window

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<v Speaker 1>or an attractive part of your house. You might need

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<v Speaker 1>to do a little reorganizing to make sure you're not

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<v Speaker 1>looking at something that looks like a to do list.

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<v Speaker 1>Simple is better, So a wall with a picture and

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<v Speaker 1>a plant and a pretty container will be better than

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<v Speaker 1>a complicated bookcase or something that can get cluttered. If

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<v Speaker 1>you are looking out the window, try to choose a

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<v Speaker 1>view that is reasonably serene. This can be within your

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<v Speaker 1>control over time. Put potted plants on a balcony, or

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<v Speaker 1>you can plant some year round greenery outside to hide

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<v Speaker 1>the view of your neighbor's ugly shed. Then, finally, try

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<v Speaker 1>to build up the association of your perch with pleasant

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<v Speaker 1>feelings and activities. I liked a particular chair in my

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<v Speaker 1>old family room because that's where I sat and had

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<v Speaker 1>my coffee in the morning. I like the outside porch

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<v Speaker 1>sofa because that's where I would sit and read some

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<v Speaker 1>nights after the kids went to bed. My husband would

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes sit there too, and so I associated it with

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<v Speaker 1>summer sounds, relaxing, and hanging out together. To truly make

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<v Speaker 1>something into your happy place, consciously start doing something you

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy in that spot. Do your crossword puzzle in a

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<v Speaker 1>chosen chair, do your cross stitching in the nook by

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<v Speaker 1>the window, Read books on the hammock or on your sofa.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe grab a favorite beverage appropriate for the time of day.

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<v Speaker 1>The more you do this, the more the place will

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<v Speaker 1>feel like your special spot. When you create a happy place,

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<v Speaker 1>you give yourself a tool for stepping away from your

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<v Speaker 1>problems without taking out your car keys. You can go

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<v Speaker 1>there anytime you need to get away. Where is your

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<v Speaker 1>happy place? You can let me know at Laura at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart Media dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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