1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: Today's tip it's for thinking about resolutions, goals and habits 4 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: that you wish you'd been pursuing, maybe since New Year's Day, 5 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: or maybe since a long time ago. Instead of regretting 6 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: what you haven't done, start today. Maybe some other time 7 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: might have been the best time to start, but the 8 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:41,480 Speaker 1: second best time is now. Perhaps New Year's Day came 9 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: and went and you never found the time to set 10 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: goals and intentions for the coming year. Or maybe you 11 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: did make New Year's resolutions but haven't stuck with them 12 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: as faithfully as you hoped. Or maybe your regrets go 13 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: back a bit further, and maybe they're a bit deeper. 14 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: You know, the real that can keep replaying at night. 15 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,199 Speaker 1: If I had started investing aggressively for retirement at age 16 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 1: twenty two, I could retire now. If I'd put more 17 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: effort into my relationships with my family, we'd all be closer. 18 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,040 Speaker 1: If I had enrolled in that degree program four years ago, 19 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: I'd be finishing. If I had started that nonprofit I 20 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: thought about years ago, maybe we'd be making real changes 21 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: in society instead of just seeing these same problems over 22 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: and over again. There are lots of ways to torture ourselves. 23 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: But you don't have to wait for an official fresh 24 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: start like January one, and you don't have to declare 25 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: further action feudal because so much time has passed since 26 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: the optimal time. Just start today. Sure, by starting on 27 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: a random day, you'll miss out on some group momentum, 28 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: which is one of the nice aspects of New Year's resolutions, 29 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: but any day is going to have its challenge. Is 30 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: something worth doing? Is worth starting even in suboptimal conditions. 31 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: As the saying goes, the best time to plant a 32 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now. 33 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: So today. Identify an important priority or goal that you 34 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: want to focus on for some period of time, maybe 35 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: the rest of this month, whatever makes sense. Then commit 36 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: to your resolution, just as you would a New Year's resolution. 37 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: Perhaps you'll tell your friends and family about your goal 38 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,799 Speaker 1: or post about it on social media. When people know 39 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: what you're working toward, they can encourage you in your 40 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: efforts and celebrate progress with you. They can hold you accountable, 41 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:50,799 Speaker 1: which can increase your motivation. That said, some people prefer 42 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: to keep the resolutions or goals private rather than telling people. 43 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: There's actually some research supporting this quietness in certain circumstances. 44 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: It turns out that we can get a sneaky feeling 45 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: of accomplishment just from telling people about a goal. Say 46 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: you're going to volunteer every Saturday, and you already feel 47 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: like the kind of person who volunteers every Saturday, even 48 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: if come Saturday you do something else. So if you 49 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 1: suspect that would be you, find another way to make 50 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: your commitment concrete. For instance, you could document your goals 51 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: in a prominent place in your journal or planner, or 52 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: put a note on your computer screen or bathroom mirror. 53 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: You could even create a recurring calendar item to remind 54 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: you of your goal and prompt you to reflect on 55 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: your progress. If you have a weekly planning routine, I 56 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: hope you do include time for reflecting on the past 57 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: week's actions related to your goal and planning for the 58 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: next week's goal. Motivated behavior think about potential challenges, think 59 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: about how you'll address them, blackout time to take various 60 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: steps towards your goal. There are all kinds of things 61 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: that we should have done earlier. Sometimes these things seem 62 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: obvious in retrospect. If I knew I was going to 63 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: be writing books for a living, I should have done 64 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: more to build up an audience. If I knew I'd 65 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: love singing in my church choir, I should have joined 66 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: when I joined the church, rather than waiting for an 67 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: inexplicable six years. But those six years are gone one 68 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: way or another. You can feel bad about it or 69 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: enjoy every moment of opportunity that is available moving forward. 70 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:36,160 Speaker 1: Don't be kicking yourself in twenty years for the tree 71 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:41,919 Speaker 1: you didn't plant today. In the meantime, this is Laura. 72 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 73 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 74 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,679 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 75 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 76 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast 77 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,720 Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email 78 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com. 79 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 80 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 81 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For 82 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:33,559 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the i heart radio, app, 83 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.