1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: tip is to marvel at the amazing things that people 4 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: have accomplished. You can take encouragement from these wonders that 5 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: you can do great things too. Today's tip, like some 6 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: others I've talked about recently, comes from Oliver Berkman's book 7 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 1: Meditations for Mortals. If you've read anything by Berkman, you 8 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:41,919 Speaker 1: know that he urges people to acknowledge their finitude and limitations. 9 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: He's quick to point out all the things that we 10 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: just can't do. You can't be in two places at once. 11 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: You don't have unlimited time. You can't render yourself so 12 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 1: efficient that no incoming volume of work could ever overwhelm you, 13 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: he writes. But when we recognize our true limits, we 14 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: can make smart choices about how to use the time 15 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: and capacity we do have. As he explains, the relationship 16 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: between the two kinds of impossible, is actually an adverse one. 17 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: The more you are willing wholeheartedly to acknowledge the hard 18 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: limitations of human finitude, the easier it gets to do 19 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: what others might dismiss as impossible, he continues. Once you 20 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: stop struggling to stay on top of everything or to 21 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: make everything perfect, you are rewarded with the time, energy, 22 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 1: and psychological freedom to accomplish the most of which anyone 23 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: could be capable. When you stop trying to do everything perfectly, 24 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: you can perhaps do something more meaningful and grand than 25 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: you could have imagined. You can stand in awe of 26 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: the wonderful things other people have done and be encouraged 27 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: and inspired to do something great yourself. And let's be clear, 28 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: people have done some amazing things and then rebuilding Notre 29 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: Dame composing the B minor mass or think about Beethoven's 30 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: Ninth Symphony, which he composed after losing much of his hearing. 31 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: I think the near complete eradication of smallpox is pretty exciting, 32 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: where that infant and maternal mortality has plummeted over the 33 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: last one hundred and fifty years. I mean, hey, we 34 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: get pictures sent back from the far reaches of outer space. 35 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: How cool is that people, working both individually and together 36 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: accomplish these things. And while plenty of people are more 37 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: talented or skilled than the rest of us, we all 38 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: have twenty four hours in a day when we use 39 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 1: that time well, we can accomplish some pretty amazing things too, 40 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: se Fe pardue Monde. According to Berkman, that's an old 41 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: fashioned French Canadian saying that essentially means people did that, 42 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: and we are people too. If you decided to carve 43 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: out time every day for the next year to write 44 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: your family's story, you would end the year with something 45 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: pretty solid. It might need work, but it would exist. 46 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: If you took pictures every day for the next year 47 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: and studied how to use light and frame things well, 48 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: by the end of the year, you would no doubt 49 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: have a few images you would be quite proud of. 50 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: I bet you could team up with other people in 51 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: your community to make sure that every kid at your 52 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: local elementary school had books to read over the summer, 53 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: or that your local food brink had lots of ken 54 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: friendly food for the summer season as well. As Berkman argues, 55 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: when we accept our limitations and finitude, paradoxically, we are 56 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: able to accomplish much more than we would if we 57 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: were overly focused on perfection. Recognizing what is literally impossible 58 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: paves the way to do something great that only seems impossible. 59 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: So what Moonshot could you tackle. If you let go 60 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: of the pressure to answer every email, I'd love to 61 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: hear about it. You can reach me at Laura at 62 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. 63 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 64 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 65 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,480 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 66 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:39,599 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 67 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit 68 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 69 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.