December 26, 2019 • 5 mins
Make good moments pass more slowly
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
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 practical things you can do to
make good times seem to move as slowly as boring
or bad times. Here's a universal truth. All time passes.
(00:29):
Sometimes this is a blessing. If you're experiencing, say a
night in the e r are, a miserably bumpy flight,
or a painful dental procedure. Eventually you will be on
the other side of these things. The flip side of
this is that good times passed quickly to Every Christmas morning,
(00:50):
after we have emerged from the frenzy of opening gifts,
one of my children will note that, oh, it's over, unspoken.
They have been looking forward to this for weeks, yet
in a few hours it's on to the next year.
All time passes, and a corollary, all time passes at
the same pace. Yet that's sixty minutes with the dentist's
(01:13):
hands in your mouth, or sixty minutes stuck in a
maddening traffic jam pass at a very different pace than
sixty minutes spent grabbing lunch with an old friend. The
first two can feel like they take a lifetime. The
latter goes faster than the blink of an eye. It
raises the question is it possible to make the good
(01:34):
times move as slowly as the boring or bad ones?
And the short answer is no. However, it is possible
to stretch good experiences to make them seem richer and longer.
We've talked about savoring in the past on this podcast,
but as the holiday season comes and goes, I think
(01:55):
it's good to have a refresher. To savor is to
feel pleasure, and to realize that you are feeling pleasure.
It deepens the feeling by adding a second layer of acknowledgement.
It means consciously moving slower and trying to make an
experience richer. Subjects in a lab told to max out
(02:15):
their enjoyment of a chocolate chip cookie almost universally slow
down from a normal eating pace. They take in everything
they can with all their senses and all their focus.
We can do the same thing and make smart choices
with our schedules too. The first step in stretching out
good experiences is to look forward to them. Study your calendar.
(02:40):
What are you excited about if you don't have anything
on there, We'll put something on there. The post holiday
slump can be tough, so make plans to get together
with friends, to try a new restaurant, to go to
a concert, take a midwinter vacation, or get tickets to
your favorite sports teams game. The further in the few
ture you plan these things, the longer you can savor
(03:03):
your anticipation. During the event itself, try to be fully present,
slow down, note what you can site, sounds, smells, if
you're with other people, talk about how much you're enjoying yourself.
Sometimes just saying those words forces our brains to pay attention.
(03:26):
And finally, after the event, find some way to commemorate it.
Print up pictures or by that concert t shirt, write
about the event in your journal or post to write
up on a blog or on social media. Get together
with the people who were with you and recount your
experiences again. All this helps cement the memory, and when
(03:49):
memories are vivid, they appear to take up more space.
I can tell you that getting to feed an actual
rhino at the San Diego Zoos Safari Park in January
of this year took less time than making myself coffee
yesterday morning. But it seems a lot more vivid because
of what I did and have done to stretch out
(04:10):
that experience. Time moves at the same pace, but that
good time slow down a lot. So today, think about
what upcoming experiences you might be able to save her,
make a plan for interacting with time to help it
seem to move slower, and then prepared to revisit your
(04:31):
memories afterwards. You just might make yourself feel like you
have all the time in the world. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
(04:53):
hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the
number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
(05:15):
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows,
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 practical things you can do to
make good times seem to move as slowly as boring
or bad times. Here's a universal truth. All time passes.
(00:29):
Sometimes this is a blessing. If you're experiencing, say a
night in the e r are, a miserably bumpy flight,
or a painful dental procedure. Eventually you will be on
the other side of these things. The flip side of
this is that good times passed quickly to Every Christmas morning,
(00:50):
after we have emerged from the frenzy of opening gifts,
one of my children will note that, oh, it's over, unspoken.
They have been looking forward to this for weeks, yet
in a few hours it's on to the next year.
All time passes, and a corollary, all time passes at
the same pace. Yet that's sixty minutes with the dentist's
(01:13):
hands in your mouth, or sixty minutes stuck in a
maddening traffic jam pass at a very different pace than
sixty minutes spent grabbing lunch with an old friend. The
first two can feel like they take a lifetime. The
latter goes faster than the blink of an eye. It
raises the question is it possible to make the good
(01:34):
times move as slowly as the boring or bad ones?
And the short answer is no. However, it is possible
to stretch good experiences to make them seem richer and longer.
We've talked about savoring in the past on this podcast,
but as the holiday season comes and goes, I think
(01:55):
it's good to have a refresher. To savor is to
feel pleasure, and to realize that you are feeling pleasure.
It deepens the feeling by adding a second layer of acknowledgement.
It means consciously moving slower and trying to make an
experience richer. Subjects in a lab told to max out
(02:15):
their enjoyment of a chocolate chip cookie almost universally slow
down from a normal eating pace. They take in everything
they can with all their senses and all their focus.
We can do the same thing and make smart choices
with our schedules too. The first step in stretching out
good experiences is to look forward to them. Study your calendar.
(02:40):
What are you excited about if you don't have anything
on there, We'll put something on there. The post holiday
slump can be tough, so make plans to get together
with friends, to try a new restaurant, to go to
a concert, take a midwinter vacation, or get tickets to
your favorite sports teams game. The further in the few
ture you plan these things, the longer you can savor
(03:03):
your anticipation. During the event itself, try to be fully present,
slow down, note what you can site, sounds, smells, if
you're with other people, talk about how much you're enjoying yourself.
Sometimes just saying those words forces our brains to pay attention.
(03:26):
And finally, after the event, find some way to commemorate it.
Print up pictures or by that concert t shirt, write
about the event in your journal or post to write
up on a blog or on social media. Get together
with the people who were with you and recount your
experiences again. All this helps cement the memory, and when
(03:49):
memories are vivid, they appear to take up more space.
I can tell you that getting to feed an actual
rhino at the San Diego Zoos Safari Park in January
of this year took less time than making myself coffee
yesterday morning. But it seems a lot more vivid because
of what I did and have done to stretch out
(04:10):
that experience. Time moves at the same pace, but that
good time slow down a lot. So today, think about
what upcoming experiences you might be able to save her,
make a plan for interacting with time to help it
seem to move slower, and then prepared to revisit your
(04:31):
memories afterwards. You just might make yourself feel like you
have all the time in the world. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
(04:53):
hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the
number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
(05:15):
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows,
Before Breakfast News
Host
Laura Vanderkam
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