This is an I Heart podcast.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about one way to keep plodding along toward a goal, even if the process feels discouraging or unpleasant.
You can tell yourself that someday you will be telling this story, and all this muddling through will just be the obstacles that the hero had to face on his journey.
The outcome is certain.
What's going on now is just making the plot more interesting.
So not long ago, I had a conversation with a friend who was finding dating incredibly discouraging.
It was all the usual complaints.
People weren't who they said they were.
People didn't show up.
Or they ghosted.
I said something along the lines that dating was terrible until the moment it wasn't.
When you met that person who you could see building a life with.
So how does one get through the rough stuff?
One option is to picture yourself with this future Mr. or Mrs. Right.
The two of you are deeply in love, sharing a happy moment together.
You are laughing about all the ridiculous dates both of you went on with other people until you met each other.
Someday, you will be telling this story.
All this messiness just becomes material.
Same thing with job hunting.
I know this can be as discouraging as dating.
You know you have useful skills and yet it is hard to convince impersonal organizations How helpful you could be.
Along the way, there are interviewers who are late or who mispronounce your name or who don't even seem to understand what you are talking about.
There are jobs that sound great and then, strangely, disappear.
There's a lot of silence and sometimes people who you thought would be helpful aren't.
But maybe you could picture yourself six months from now starting something really exciting.
You are looking forward to the workday.
You really enjoy getting to know your colleagues.
You have coffee with one, during which you are telling the story of all the ridiculousness that happened before you, and this organization met each other.
Everyone is hanging on to the story because the hero's struggles make the plot so much better.
That is what you are going through now.
I know this is just a mental trick, but it really does help.
In retrospect, things can seem inevitable, but there was always a moment when it wasn't.
In the best stories, things weren't inevitable.
The hero had to keep going, forging on, ultimately emerging victorious.
So if you are going through something rough right now, Picture yourself in the future, when the current problem has been solved.
Someday, you will be telling this story.
Someday this will be a plot point where everyone's just waiting to see how the hero will keep moving forward.
But you do, and you get to the happy ending.
Knowing that someday you'll be telling this story can keep you going now.
In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening.
And here's to making the most of our time.
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at LauraVanderkam.com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeart Media.
For more podcasts from iHeart Media, please visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Podcast Health Stuff we are tackling all the health questions that keep you up at night.
I'm Dr. Priyanka Wally, a double board certified physician.
And I'm Hari Kundabolu, a comedian and someone who once Googled, do I have scurvy at 3am?
And on our show we're talking about health in a different way, like our episode where we look at diabetes.
In the United States, I mean, 50% of Americans are pre-diabetic.
How preventable is type 2?
Extremely.
Listen to Health Stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein, and we used to host a show called Planet Money.
And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history.
And some of the worst people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business.
First episode, how Southwest Airlines used cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline business.
The most Texas story ever.
Listen to Business History on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an iHeart Podcast.
