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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of IHeart Radio.

Good morning.

This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's tip is to exercise your social muscles.

If you have any social skills that are weak, consciously thinking of how to strengthen them

can make your social life better over time. Today's tip comes from friendship expert Shasta Nelson, who has been a guest on my other

podcast, Best of Both Worlds.

Shasta recently gave a TEDx talk called Relationally Fit, the social secret to a longer, happier life. In her TED talk, she argues that no pain,

no gain, turns out to be true for relational fitness and not just physical fitness. Just as you have to

lift heavier weights and perhaps feel a little sore in order to strengthen your muscles.

She says that sometimes we have to do things that feel a little uncomfortable in our

relationships in order to get stronger.

So think about this.

Where might you be socially flabby?

Shasta suggested a few areas. Maybe you rarely initiate plans.

Maybe you have a tendency to start talking about yourself as soon as the other person takes a

breath. Maybe you withdraw from conflict. I could think of several others, like not working to remember the details of other

people's lives, or not staying in touch with people who you really like, but who are no longer

in your daily circle of activity. It happens. We can all get socially flabby. But if you search yourself in your life and see that you have a particular weak spot,

...