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Welcome to the Gratitude Diaries, a

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production of My Heart Radio. Hi.

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I'm Janice Kaplan. Thanks for joining

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me for more practical ideas on how to

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be happier. Today's tip,

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if you want to add some joy to your day,

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take a lesson from James Bond.

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Over the years, I've interviewed a lot of famous

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actors and big stars. I've

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often been struck by how many of them are

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truly grateful and appreciative of what

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they have. Now. You may

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say they better be their stars

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they have everything, But just

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think of how many people who are less fortunate

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are looking at you and thinking that you

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have everything and wondering why you're not grateful.

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It's easy to say that others should appreciate

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where they are, and much harder to recognize

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the same in ourselves. No

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matter what you have or don't have, it

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becomes the norm. Psychologists

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referred to it as habitual, aation. You're

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no longer surprised by what you have, and

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then you start thinking of all the things

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that might be different or better. Sometimes

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it helps to give yourself a physical

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reminder that you do want to be happy right

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now with what you have right now,

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and you're not going to let outside events change

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how you feel. I learned

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a great lesson about that many years ago when

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I interviewed the actor Daniel Craig,

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right after he had finished shooting his

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first James Bond movie. Most

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of us now think of Daniel Craig as

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the best Bond ever, so it's

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hard to remember that the Internet had

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been horrible to Craig when he first got

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the role. He didn't look right. He

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was too blond to serious. Some

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critics complained that he looked more like the bad

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guy than the hero. When I

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met him, he was physically exhausted from

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the grueling schedule of long days on

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the set and long nights at the gym,

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building of the strength and needed to be double

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O seven now that the movie

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was done. He was not in awaying

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the moment. I happened to have

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been the first American reporter to talk

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to him. At that point, he knew his life

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was about to change, but he didn't know exactly

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how. He was worried about making

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a great movie for the fans and maintaining

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the integrity of his own career, being

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typecast as James Bond forever

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after maybe a high class problem

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that any actor would relish, but Craig

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was unsure about how it was going to affect

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him. Ever after, Craig

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and I had breakfast together at his suite

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at the elegant Dorchester Hotel in London.

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As we talked, I happened to notice

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a bracelet on his wrist. I leaned

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over to see it, and the inscription said, the

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more joy we have, the more

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nearly perfect we are. Let

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me say that one more time. The more

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joy we have, the more nearly

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perfect we are. Daniel

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Craig told me it was a quote from the

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philosopher Spinoza, and

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he said, I love the idea that

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joy is what makes you perfect. It's

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a good philosophy to get through life, isn't

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it. Feeling joy

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and gratitude in the midst of a pressured situation

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can help you calm down and gain some perspective.

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Later, when Craig's movie Casino Royale

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made more money and got better reviews

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than any Bond movie in history, I

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hoped Daniel Craig felt better, But

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I also knew that what really mattered for

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him was the reminder of that bracelet.

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Joy comes from the inside, not out,

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even for an actor on the verge of being a

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worldwide icon. Happiness

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isn't a given. You have to be willing

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to be grateful for where you are and hopeful

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for what comes next. After

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one of the James Bond movies a few years ago,

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Craig told a reporter that he wasn't doing

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anymore. He was done, exhausted,

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and he said he'd rather slash his wrists

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than continue being Bond. But

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by the next year he had fully changed

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his tune. He said, as far

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as I'm concerned, I've got the best job

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in the world. I'll keep doing

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it. Daniel Craig

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does make ridiculous sums of money for being

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James Bond now, but I can't understand

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those ups and downs of how he felt. We

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all go through those moments of wanting

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to be somewhere else, or maybe be someone

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else. Maybe we're exhausted

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after our work, we think we never want to continue

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it, and we forget to be grateful for

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what we've just done and what might be. And

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that's true even when you're one of the most

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famous movie stars in the world. But

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Daniel Craig gave himself one gift

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that was worth more than money, The

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reminder of the joy is what matters,

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and joy is what makes us perfect. Joy

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gets you through long movie shoots, exhausting

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days in the gym, or any kind

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of job that the rest of us have. So

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today, remember that line from Spinoza

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that inspired Daniel Craig and look

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for joy wherever you can be

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grateful for what you've done and where you can go

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next. Whether the world has you shaken

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or stirred, you can feel good about

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it when you have the right mindset. Thanks

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for joining me. I'll be back with more ideas

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on how to add gratitude to your life and

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make every day a little brighter. Have

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a great day.

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The Gratitude Diaries is a production of I

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Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I

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