1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:19,760 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to practice your New Year's resolutions before 4 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: the new year begins. By trying your resolutions out now 5 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: and troubleshooting problems, you increase the chances that you'll feel 6 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: like a pro when New Year's rolls around. So there's 7 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: a funny prayer attributed to Saint Augustine, Lord, grant me 8 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: chastity and countenance, But not yet. I think many of 9 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: us approach New Year's resolutions the same way. Since we 10 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: intend to eat healthily come January first, well, it's okay 11 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: to indulge a lot over the holidays. We plan to 12 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: start waking up early to exercise in the new years, 13 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: so best to sleep in now so we're you know, 14 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: rested for all that exercise that's going to take place. 15 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: But believe it or not, eating lots of desserts now 16 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,759 Speaker 1: will not make it easier to transition to egg white 17 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: omelets in January. Nor will hitting snooze now set you 18 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: up for a sustainable early morning exercise routine in the 19 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: new year. You are not going to be a different 20 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: person in the new Year, you are not going to 21 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: have new fonts of willpower or new troubleshooting capabilities. Instead, 22 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: you can set yourself up for success with your New 23 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: Year's resolutions by practicing those habits now. Think about how 24 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: basketball players do shooting drills right before a game begins, 25 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: and how baseball players throw and catch during their pregame 26 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: warm up. The athletes are getting in the groove so 27 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: that once play begins they're ready to play at their best. 28 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: In a similar vein whatever your intended habit is, start 29 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: practicing it now so that you're ready to succeed and 30 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 1: aren't starting from zero on January first. You have a 31 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: bit of momentum. You also have a sense of what 32 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: might go wrong, so you can make adjustments. For example, 33 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: it may take a few attempts to figure out what 34 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: time you need to get up to exercise before work, 35 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: taking into account travel time to and from the gym 36 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: and time for showering. Or if you've resolved to have 37 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: family dinners several nights each week, it may take a 38 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: little trial and error to figure out when together at 39 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: the table, considering everyone's afternoons and their bedtimes. You may 40 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: also want to experiment with when you start cooking and 41 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,799 Speaker 1: your expectations for dinner time behavior. What's your response if 42 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: a kid asks to be excused five minutes after sitting down. 43 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: There are lots of great approaches to family dinner, and 44 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: if you figure out an approach or several approaches that 45 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: work for your family this year, you'll be ready to 46 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,919 Speaker 1: rock family dinners in the new year. If you don't 47 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: practice your resolution before the new year and run into 48 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: issues during the first week of the new year, it's 49 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: easy to get to scouraged and abandon the whole attempt. 50 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,079 Speaker 1: But by practicing your resolutions now, you can work out 51 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:10,079 Speaker 1: any kinks before it counts, at least in the common 52 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: mental model. You start in a lower stakes model and 53 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: then ramp up, which by the way, is probably how 54 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: New Year's resolutions should start anyway, even if you do 55 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: start them on January one. But that said, I know 56 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 1: the fresh start effect is strong, so if you are 57 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: hoping to take advantage of this strong start, then do 58 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: your ramp up before like right now, now is always 59 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: a great time to start. In the meantime, this is Laura, 60 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 61 00:03:51,920 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, at to hear from you. You 62 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 63 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 64 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four, then 65 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,840 Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an 66 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast. At i heeart media dot 67 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,600 Speaker 1: com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 68 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 69 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For 70 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart 71 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 72 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: favorite shows.