If/Then

Make sure your actions serve their intended purposes

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Episode Transcript

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 to make sure your actions are serving
their intended purpose. If they are working as intended, then

(00:27):
do them, and if they are not, then don't. It
really is as simple as that we do all kinds
of things in life for all kinds of reasons, but
whether our actions are achieving our intended purposes or not
can be an entirely different matter. When deciding whether to

(00:50):
do something, an if then decision rule can ensure you
engage in a behavior only if it has the result
you intend. Setting up an if then statement prompts you
to think about why you are doing something. So, for instance,

(01:12):
let's say you often do your shopping at one of
those big warehouse stores. Why are you doing that? Presumably
it's to save money, That's why most people do it.
But if you end up buying lots of stuff that's
not on your list, or more than you need of
things that are on your list, meaning that you spend
five hundred dollars in the warehouse when you spend two

(01:36):
dollars at the grocery store, well that's not saving money.
You can run your shopping habits through the if then rubric.
If you save money at the warehouse, then you will
shop there. If you don't, then you won't. Or perhaps

(01:56):
you are sending Christmas cards and the reason you do
so is or the enjoyment of sharing family news and
photos with your friends, but you find that this year
it feels like a chore. You can use the if
then rubric to figure out if it's worth it. If
sending Christmas cards feels joyful, then I will send them.

(02:21):
If it doesn't feel joyful, then no. Or maybe you've
started a degree program but are starting to have doubts
that anyone in the positions you aspire to has that
particular degree. You can think about it and decide that
if the degree is obviously useful towards your goals, then

(02:41):
you will finish the program. If not, time to pursue
other professional development options now. Of course, it is quite
possible that you will decide after some analysis that you
truly are saving money or enjoying the Christmas cards or
what have you. If so, arey on. There are times

(03:02):
when actions serve their intended purposes. There are also times
when we do things out of a vague sense of
obligation or virtue, but the truth is most likely no
one really cares. Why are you maintaining an elaborate folder
system for your emails? Why do you get to your

(03:24):
desk every day at seven? Why don't you allow your
kids to watch TV? There may be good reasons for
these things, and they may be achieving their intended purposes,
but maybe not. If the lack of TV creates a
peaceful home and that is your goal, then it is
probably worthwhile. If it just makes life harder for you,

(03:47):
then maybe it isn't. Since your ultimate goal probably isn't
to make life harder, do hard things win and only win,
they are having a bigger good. Asking the if then
question helps make that clear. In the meantime, this is Laura.

(04:12):
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at

(04:33):
Before Breakfast Pod that's B 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 with all the letters.
Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch.

(04:57):
Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For
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favorite shows. Yea.