Good morning and welcome
to your morning cereal.
Okay, good morning and welcome to Monday.
I hope you had a great weekend.
It is still March Madness time.
Is your team still in it?
Mine is not, but I hope yours is.
Well, either way,
it's another manic Monday
that has arrived and your alarm clock
probably feels like it's a little bit
of a personal betrayal
for you this morning.
But all is good today
because today is national.
I am in control day,
which is either empowering
or it's deeply ironic
depending on how your morning
has gone so far.
Either way, today is
all about taking ownership
of your choices, even the ones involving
hitting the snooze
button four times, right?
And now the answer to
Friday's trivia question,
Julia Child, the chef's
kitchen that is on display
at the Smithsonian is Julia Child's.
Now it's time for the essential vitamins
in your morning cereal, today's quote.
And it is from birthday
legend turning 58 today,
one of my favorites,
Celine Dion, who said quote,
"Don't be so familiar
and so much into routine
that you don't know when
you've changed," end quote.
All right, your
morning decode here, Celine,
basically if your life
feels like it's on autopilot,
it might be time to check if
you're still the driver, right?
Our rigid life routine
makes you stop paying attention
to your internal state,
potentially missing the moment
that you've outgrown
your old self, right?
One life, live it people.
All right, well, let's go ahead and hear
from the experts now.
It is time to pour in some
atomic habits by James Clear.
And today we are beginning
part two and chapter four
with today's segment coming
from chapter four's intro,
the man who didn't look right, okay?
And yes, it sounds like the
start of a true crime podcast,
but it's actually about the
science of habit perception.
Now, admittedly, I've been
watching way too much Dateline,
but here we go.
To open, Clear tells us
the story of a paramedic
who instantly sensed
something was off with a patient
and before any obvious
symptoms had appeared.
Now that gut instinct, it wasn't magic,
it was pattern recognition
built from his experience.
Now, Clear explains that our brains
are constantly scanning for these cues,
even subconsciously saying, quote,
"The human brain is a prediction
machine," end quote.
Now, over time,
habits shape what we notice
and what we ignore.
So this matters because
your identity and habits
influence your perception of reality.
A smoker notices cigarette breaks,
a runner notices trails,
a business owner notices opportunity.
Your habits don't
just shape your actions,
they actually shape your awareness.
And Clear also
highlights how small habits
reinforce identity, saying, quote,
"Every action you take is a
vote for the type of person
you wish to become," end quote, right?
That means each tiny
decision you're making,
whether to scroll or to
start, it all adds up.
The deeper message here is that change
isn't just behavioral, it's perceptual.
When your habits shift,
your worldview also shifts.
And suddenly, the
things that once felt hard
become more natural to you.
So this chapter, it sets
the stage for understanding
that habits just aren't routines,
they're lenses through
which you see your world.
All right, here it is.
Your Monday takeaway is
this, change your habits
and you'll literally
change what you notice,
and ultimately who you become.
All right, friends, take
control of your Monday,
like it owes you money, right?
But first, the prize from
the bottom of the cereal box,
morning cereal trivia
question of the day,
how many valves does a trumpet have?
All right, hey, thanks for
listening to morning cereal.
We will see you back here tomorrow
for the answer to the trivia question
and more sugar for the soul.
And until then, have a fantastic day.
Don't forget to follow and subscribe
to the morning cereal podcast
on the One Life Live It channel.
You can find more episodes and videos
by visiting our YouTube
channel and the website
at seanenglis and at seanenglis.com,
where you can also
follow our other podcast,
the Mr. and Mrs. English podcast
and the Life Happens podcast.
And these other podcasts will dive deeper
into everyday issues,
self-improvement and well-being,
business and finance, and we
welcome special guests too.
So join us, it will be
a good time, I promise.
Thanks again for
listening, have a fantastic day,
and we'll see you tomorrow.