Show 1172 Thursday 18 February
Watch today's show at YouTube
Hi I'm Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.
Today I’d like to tell you about a series of videos that I really like.
And you can find them on this YouTube channel.
They’re by an American author called Gretchen Rubin. She’s written a book called The Happiness Project and I came across her after I saw a video of her on the AtGoogleTalks channel.
In these videos, she gives one challenge or resolution per week, something specific that she recommends you do that will make you happier.
In the video for week one, the resolution she recommends is to get more sleep.
She says getting more sleep: improves memory, it increases your immune system, it helps with your metabolism. And some people think that it even helps you lose weight.
And in the video for week two, the challenge is to get more exercise.
She says: … If you exercise, you get a mood boost, one that lasts for several hours.
And you’re also going to make yourself feel more energetic.
I think her advice is really spot on. And I think it relates to studying English because the happier and healthier you are, the better you are able to concentrate on studying.
I know for me, if I try to study or do some work, when I’m angry or annoyed about something, then I have great difficulty focusing on what I’m trying to do.
But if I’m happy and healthy, getting enough sleep, eating healthy food and exercising regularly, then I can concentrate much better.
So go and check out her videos – and you can study English and get some useful advice or reminders at the same time.
STICK NEWS
Kia ora in Stick News today, a Japanese snowboarder competing in the winter Olympics caused a scandal by turning up to the airport with his shirt untucked, his tie loose and his trousers low.
When the Japanese team left for the winter Olympics, 21-year-old snowboarder Kokubo Kazuhiro arrived at the airport wearing his uniform in an unusual way.
The Japanese media pack then lost all interest in the sporting event and started baying for his blood.
American singer and fashion commentator General Larry Platt says that people who wear their pants on the ground think they are cool cats, but they look like fools.
And that was Stick News for Thursday the 18th of February.
Kia ora .
Yo
Let's try our best.
The Japanese public are OUTRAGED! What do you say?!
The loose
When's the press conference? We want a tearful apology!
TRASHY TV
Pants on the ground! Pants on the ground!
チッ、うっせーな
Word of the Day
Today’s word is transcendent.
In one of the videos we’re studying today, Gretchen says:
The thing about happiness is that it can feel like a very transcendent, vague, goal.
What does transcendent mean?
And the example here is: a writer of transcendent genius.
#744 Where do you go?
Step 1: Read Alex’s lines.
Step 2: Repeat Alex’s lines and talk to Sarah.
Alex What do you do for exercise?
Sarah At the moment, just jogging.
Alex Where do you go?
Sarah Down by the waterfront. I usually go in the morning.
Alex Do you see many other people jogging?
Sarah Yeah, quite a few. Some people walking, some running. And there are lots of people exercising in a park.
Alex Doing aerobics?
Sarah No, not with music. Lot of strange exercises like dragging tyres or dragging ropes.
The Happiness Challenge Week One - Transcript
Month one is the month of energy. And I picked energy as the first thing to tackle because I think if you feel energetic, everything else in your life is easier.
And if you’re feeling energetic you’re more likely to feel happy.
So what are some easy, simple, manageable things that you can do to have more energy?
The first one … is very obvious. And that is: get more sleep.
Now, the thing about happiness is that it can feel like a very transcendent, vague, goal. But a good place to start with happiness, is with your body. And sleep is something that you really, really need to have if you’re going to feel energetic and healthy.
They’ve done studies on what makes people have bad moods at work. And not having enough sleep is one of the top two things that make people have a bad mood at work. The other one is tight work deadlines. You can’t control tight work deadlines, but you can get more sleep.
One of the things about sleep is that it’s just tempting to stay up late. It’s not that you’re having trouble falling asleep, it’s just that you’re having trouble turning off the light. And it’s hard, especially if you have little kids, it’s fun to stay up late and have all the, to have all the fun adult activities that you want to have. But you really have to just turn off the light.
One thing that I do that helps me turn off the light is I take out my contact lenses well before I want to go to sleep. Because I think, sometimes you put off going to bed because it just seems like too much trouble to get ready for bed, like, brushing your teeth, and washing your face, and putting away your clothes, all that stuff. If you can do those things a little bit before you want to go to sleep, sometimes that helps you move your bedtime earlier.
Another benefit of getting more sleep is that it improves memory, it increases your immune system, it helps with your metabolism. And some people think that it even helps you lose weight. There’s a lot of health reasons to want to be getting more sleep.
Now, another thing that you can do, to have more energy – and I’m going to talk about that in another week - is to exercise. And one of the benefits of exercising is that it helps you sleep. It helps you fall asleep faster and helps you stay asleep. And that is especially true of people who have problems with their sleeping. So if you’re having problems with your sleeping, you might want to think about getting a little bit more exercise during your day.
Do things like always wake up at the same time. Try to keep it very dark in your room. Keep your bedroom maybe a bit chilly. Um, if your , if any part of your body’s cold, try to put on socks or put on whatever you need to be warm, that helps you fall asleep. Do whatever it is that you need to do to try to get that sleep.
And one more thing, when you wake up in the morning after having a good night’s sleep.
Something to think about is to make your bed. Of all the resolutions that I’ve talked about, and that I write about on my blog and that I talk about in my book and that I talk about with people whenever I talk about with happiness, I’ve been really surprised, the one thing that people mention to me over and over and over that has really helped with their happiness, is to make their bed. It just sort of starts your day on a nice note. It makes you feel like you’ve gotten something small accomplished, but something real. It makes your bedroom look neat. It’s more fun to come back to, it’s more inviting to go to sleep at night when your bed is made.
So, try to go to sleep on time, make your bed in the morning and do whatever you have to do to get more sleep and you will see a real increase in your energy.
So the resolution for this week is get more sleep. And the thought for this week is: the days are long, but the years are short.
The Happiness Challenge Week Two - Transcript
This is month of energy. And the resolution for the first week was to get more sleep. And the resolution for this week is to get more exercise.
Exercise is a great way to boost your mood. Studies show that if you exercise, you get a mood boost, one that lasts for several hours. And you’re also going to make yourself feel more energetic. Some people assume that you’re going to feel tired out if you, if you exercise. But for most people if you exercise moderately, you’re going to get actually feeling more energy after you exercise.
Now, sometimes when people think about happiness, they think that they need to start with something very big, something very vague, something transcendent. But your body matters and things like getting a little bit of exercise every day is really going to add up over the long term.
And don’t feel like you need to train for a marathon, or go running for, you know, ah, five miles a day, or, or really exert yourself like that. Just start slow. If, if you can’t go for a run, just go for a walk around the block.
Some things to think about if you’re trying to change yourself to exercise more regularly, is to always exercise on Monday because that sets the tone for the rest of the week, so if you start on Monday, you’re more likely to keep it up for the rest of the week. Also if you exercise first thing in the morning, that helps you stick to an exercise routine too. Because as the day goes on, more things start to interfere with your exercise, and also you start to think of more excuses about why you shouldn’t have to exercise. If you just do it first thing in the morning, just roll out of bed and go, that’s good.
Another thing is to give yourself credit for the least effort. When I started exercising in high school - I’m a complete couch potato and I was converted by my father - my father told me, all you have to do is put on your running shoes and close the door behind you, if you do that much, then it counts as exercising. And that’s really true. If you can just get out the door, pretty soon you’re going to go around the block and pretty soon you’re going to be able to go for regular exercise.
It’s especially beneficial if you go … if you take your exercise outside. Because people
The resolution for this week was to get more exercise. And the thought for this week is: your body matters.
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