April 3, 2026 • 5 mins
Knowing your back-up plan can make life more calm
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to come up with some better option bes.
When your fallback option is good enough, you become a
(00:25):
lot less attached to option A. This tranquility can prevent
a lot of anxiety and unhappiness. So over the past
few weeks, a lot of high school seniors have heard
back from colleges on whether they have been accepted or rejected.
When young people apply to very selective schools, counselors usually
(00:48):
advise them to apply to a safety school. This is
a school that you know you will get into. If
you choose this option be well. Knowing you will get
a good edge regardless of any other acceptances or rejections,
can make the whole application process less stressful. I will add,
(01:09):
having been through this now with my family, that having
an option be that you know about early is even better.
One of our flagship state schools here in Pennsylvania does
rolling admissions, So my son sent in his application in
September of his senior year, and we knew in early
October that he had a very good option for the
next year. Regardless of how everything else turned out. Now,
(01:34):
as adults, we aren't necessarily thinking about safety schools, but
the same concept is helpful when we face situations that
may or may not go as intended. A few years
ago I was planning to take my older two boys
to Scotland for a long weekend, and due to a
string of terrible airline issues, we never wound up leaving
Newark Airport. That was frustrating, for sure, but we had
(01:58):
ideas of back up adventures for the weekend and wound
up having a really good time seeing the Bronx Zoo,
going out for a nice stick dinner, and even having
a British tea experience at a local tea place. It
wasn't in Edinburgh, but option B wasn't exactly bad either.
Scoons are great anywhere. I always say that anyone can
(02:22):
create a perfect schedule. True time management masters make resilient
schedules where life keeps moving forward even when life doesn't
go as intended. A key part of that is having
better option bs. You certainly hope that Option A will happen,
but if it doesn't, what is your Option B. If
(02:46):
Option B is good enough, you won't fret so much
about the possibility of option A not happening, and this
can play out in all sorts of scenarios. You plan
to go to the beach, but you know the weekend
weather looks iffy, so you've already decided that if it
winds up braining, your family will go to the science
museum instead. You all love the science museum, so you
(03:09):
will have fun regardless. Or maybe you are planning on
applying for a new job. You really hope you'll get it,
but you've already figured out that you want a change,
so you are having a discussion with your manager about
moving to a different set of projects. You are excited
about that move, so even if you don't get the
(03:29):
new job, your work life is going to be a
lot more interesting. A few months ago, I was trying
to get home when my flight was canceled. That was inconvenient,
but my option B was staying with a friend who
lived in town, and that was fun to get more
time together and to catch up. In any scenario where
(03:53):
things might not go as planned, brainstorm a few really
good option bes. What would still make you happy? What
would you still be looking forward to? Knowing you have
good option bees? Will make you more resilient even if
Option A happens. Just fine. In the meantime, this is Laura.
(04:19):
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 Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
(04:46):
production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to come up with some better option bes.
When your fallback option is good enough, you become a
(00:25):
lot less attached to option A. This tranquility can prevent
a lot of anxiety and unhappiness. So over the past
few weeks, a lot of high school seniors have heard
back from colleges on whether they have been accepted or rejected.
When young people apply to very selective schools, counselors usually
(00:48):
advise them to apply to a safety school. This is
a school that you know you will get into. If
you choose this option be well. Knowing you will get
a good edge regardless of any other acceptances or rejections,
can make the whole application process less stressful. I will add,
(01:09):
having been through this now with my family, that having
an option be that you know about early is even better.
One of our flagship state schools here in Pennsylvania does
rolling admissions, So my son sent in his application in
September of his senior year, and we knew in early
October that he had a very good option for the
next year. Regardless of how everything else turned out. Now,
(01:34):
as adults, we aren't necessarily thinking about safety schools, but
the same concept is helpful when we face situations that
may or may not go as intended. A few years
ago I was planning to take my older two boys
to Scotland for a long weekend, and due to a
string of terrible airline issues, we never wound up leaving
Newark Airport. That was frustrating, for sure, but we had
(01:58):
ideas of back up adventures for the weekend and wound
up having a really good time seeing the Bronx Zoo,
going out for a nice stick dinner, and even having
a British tea experience at a local tea place. It
wasn't in Edinburgh, but option B wasn't exactly bad either.
Scoons are great anywhere. I always say that anyone can
(02:22):
create a perfect schedule. True time management masters make resilient
schedules where life keeps moving forward even when life doesn't
go as intended. A key part of that is having
better option bs. You certainly hope that Option A will happen,
but if it doesn't, what is your Option B. If
(02:46):
Option B is good enough, you won't fret so much
about the possibility of option A not happening, and this
can play out in all sorts of scenarios. You plan
to go to the beach, but you know the weekend
weather looks iffy, so you've already decided that if it
winds up braining, your family will go to the science
museum instead. You all love the science museum, so you
(03:09):
will have fun regardless. Or maybe you are planning on
applying for a new job. You really hope you'll get it,
but you've already figured out that you want a change,
so you are having a discussion with your manager about
moving to a different set of projects. You are excited
about that move, so even if you don't get the
(03:29):
new job, your work life is going to be a
lot more interesting. A few months ago, I was trying
to get home when my flight was canceled. That was inconvenient,
but my option B was staying with a friend who
lived in town, and that was fun to get more
time together and to catch up. In any scenario where
(03:53):
things might not go as planned, brainstorm a few really
good option bes. What would still make you happy? What
would you still be looking forward to? Knowing you have
good option bees? Will make you more resilient even if
Option A happens. Just fine. In the meantime, this is Laura.
(04:19):
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 Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
(04:46):
production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Before Breakfast News
Host
Laura Vanderkam
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