Good morning and welcome
to your morning cereal.
Okay, good morning and welcome to Monday.
I hope you had a great
and a restful weekend
and you're ready for five more days of
getting things done.
But first, happy Martin
Luther King Day to you.
Today we honor Civil Rights Day,
a sometimes needed reminder of progress
that we've earned through courage.
All right, the answer to
Friday's harder trivia question
is Quark.
Up, down, top, bottom, strange and charm
are varieties of Quarks,
the basic building box of matter.
All right, and now the essential vitamins
in your morning cereal.
Today's quote is from Dolly Parton,
birthday girl Dolly Parton who said,
"If you don't like
the road you're walking,
"start paving another one."
Now that's great news from Dolly.
You're not stuck in
life if your current path,
your career, your habits, your situation,
if that's not working or fulfilling you,
you have the power,
nay, the responsibility
to actively create a new, better one
through your own choices and effort,
taking control and
direction of your life, right?
All right, you've heard enough from me.
Let's pour in some Let
Them Theory by Mel Robbins.
And today we complete
the ABC loop with step B,
back off and observe.
And then because we're
feeling a little crazy today,
we're gonna throw in step C as well.
All right, this is celebrating progress
while continuing to model change.
And Robbins begins step B with an
uncomfortable truth here.
She likes to do that.
Once you've apologized and asked
open-ended questions,
your job is not to manage the outcome.
She writes this, quote,
"Back off doesn't mean you give up.
"It means stop controlling," end quote.
This step requires
patience and restraint,
especially for people
who want immediate results.
Backing off allows others the space
to choose change for themselves.
Robbins explains that, quote,
"People only change when they feel safe,
"not pressured," end quote.
And when you constantly
monitor or correct or remind,
you intentionally reinforce resistance.
Step C then shifts the
focus to reinforcement.
Robbins emphasizes the importance of
acknowledging effort
and not perfection, quote,
"What you celebrate
gets repeated," end quote.
Recognizing progress,
even those small steps
that builds momentum and trust.
And at the same time, Robbins reminds us
that modeling change never stops.
You don't lecture, you don't demonstrate.
Consistency matters more than intensity.
So over time, your behavior becomes
a reference point for others.
So this final step is about balance,
letting go of control
while staying committed
to your own growth.
It's not passive, it's intentional.
The ABC loop ends not with
certainty, but with alignment.
All right, here is your Monday takeaway.
Step back, stay steady,
and celebrate progress.
Change grows in space, not pressure.
All right, big change
doesn't happen overnight, right?
It pops slowly one kernel at a time.
Oh, and that reminds me,
today is also National Popcorn Day.
My oldest son will love that one.
Well, now the prize
from the bottom of the box,
the morning cereal
trivia question of the day.
What harp-like instrument is tied
to ancient Romans and Greeks?
All right, we will see
you back here tomorrow
for the answer and
more sugar for the soul.
Thanks for listening
to Morning Cereal today.
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 seanenglishless and at
seanenglishless.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.