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 realize that noticing a need doesn't
Speaker 1: mean you have to meet it. It's not always your job.
Speaker 1: In his book Tyranny of the Urgent, author Charles Hummel
Speaker 1: wrights the need itself, however, urgent is not the call
Speaker 1: for us to meet it. Just because you notice a need,
Speaker 1: or just because you acknowledge a need that someone brings
Speaker 1: to your attention, doesn't mean that you have to solve
Speaker 1: this problem. This is true in all spheres of life.
Speaker 1: At work, maybe a colleague is having computer issues, or
Speaker 1: there's some extra service your company could theoretically offer. At home,
Speaker 1: maybe you see a burned out light bulb in your
Speaker 1: spouse's office, or that your son's baseball club is in
Speaker 1: his dresser and he'll need it for practice after school.
Speaker 1: May be the neighborhood playground could use some spiffing up,
Speaker 1: or no one has planned anything for your mother in
Speaker 1: law's birthday. The truth is there are infinite needs and
Speaker 1: things that would make the world better, but there's only
Speaker 1: so much that one person can do, and when everything
Speaker 1: is your job. Sadly, nothing will really get done because
Speaker 1: you'll be pulled in too many directions to get anything done.
Speaker 1: So what do you do instead? First shift your mindset.
Speaker 1: If you reflexively feel obligated to solve every problem you notice, pause,
Speaker 1: ask yourself, is this my responsibility? If it is, handle it.
Speaker 1: If it's not, Consider what would happen if you didn't
Speaker 1: get involved. One possibility someone else will step up. The
Speaker 1: people around you are full of talents, compassion, and ideas.
Speaker 1: Leave some room for them to use them. Sometimes by
Speaker 1: stepping back for a moment, you'll create space for their brilliance.
Speaker 1: At times, you may decide to describe the need you
Speaker 1: see and invite others to make a plan to respond.
Speaker 1: If you're collaborating on a project at work that's going
Speaker 1: to require some late nights, don't assume that you will
Speaker 1: be the one to put them in. Instead, try staying
Speaker 1: to your team. It looks like it's going to take
Speaker 1: some time beyond normal working hours to get this finished.
Speaker 1: How can we work to gather to find extra time
Speaker 1: to get everything done? And rather than assuming you're the
Speaker 1: only one who could plan your mother in law's birthday,
Speaker 1: why not send a text to the siblings and partners groups,
Speaker 1: saying meebi, his birthday is next week. Anybody have ideas
Speaker 1: for celebrating, or, better yet, perhaps you ask your spouse
Speaker 1: about the plans and then watch as the plans emerge.
Speaker 1: Believe it or not, There may even be times when
Speaker 1: you notice a need and let it go completely unmet. Sure,
Speaker 1: the porch might be more inviting if it was swept,
Speaker 1: but if your daughter tends to hang out there with
Speaker 1: her friends, maybe give her time to notice the mess herself.
Speaker 1: And if she doesn't the world will keep spinning. Don't
Speaker 1: take it for granted that you need to swoop in
Speaker 1: and meet every unmet need. Be intentional about how you
Speaker 1: allocate your time. When we pick our battles, we might
Speaker 1: actually win them rather than spreading the army too thin.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.