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 for being a smarter, happier consumer of social media,

hg TV, blogs, and the like.

See what others do as inspiration.

A kick in the pants to see what you can do.

Don't be just a spectator.

So I don't watch a lot of TV,

but sometimes when I'm in a hotel,

I'll turn on a decorating show.

And soon one is blending into the other, and I wind up watching hours of house hunting and

makeover triumph. Watching feels satisfying. Beautiful spaces, likeable people, and a tidy

resolution to every problem in 25 minutes or so? Yes, please.

Instagram likewise makes it easy to spend entire evenings pouring over pity pictures.

That's what it's designed for.

And even though most Americans cook a lot less than their grandmothers did,

cookbook sales are booming,

and there are scores of food blogs and cooking shows. It can be fun to see people who are on top of

their games, but don't let this peek into others lives be an escape from

your own. Use their creations to motivate yourself to try cool things.

...