Jancee Dunn
Appearances
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
So the first one is, if you're feeling lonely, try reaching out to a mentor from your past.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
Yes, like somebody who has helped you in your life and maybe they don't even know how much they helped you. It can be a coach, a teacher, a neighbor. So if they're still around, contact them and tell them how they've helped you. And you may reestablish that connection. You already have that shared past. And I have done this with my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Manley. She's in her 90s.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
And my parents had given me a box of crap. You know when they're cleaning out their house and they say to you, like, here's your box of crap. I'm not keeping this anymore. Oh, yes. My fourth grade report card was in there. And Mrs. Manley had said, oh, I think Jancy can write. She may grow up and be a writer someday. She called it.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
So I wrote her a letter, and I basically just kind of thanked her for encouraging me, because when you get encouragement like that, it put in my head, oh, wait, could I be a writer? Is that even a job? I didn't know. And so I told her all that, and I said, you really shaped the course of my life. She did. And now I'm a writer and I thank you and you are a wonderful teacher.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
And she wrote back immediately with this stationery with a puppy with a letter in its mouth. And now she's my surrogate grandmother. You just don't know what can happen if you contact somebody. It can be really fulfilling.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
Yes, precisely. There's a shorthand there. There's a comfort there. And the person that you are now may also connect with the person that they are now. And it's just, especially when you get older, she's in her 90s, I'm in my 50s, we're kind of the same age in a weird way. You're both adults. We're both adults.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
And so we have a lot more in common than we did when I was a fourth grader and she was my teacher.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
I interviewed eight dentists and the majority of them, I think six out of eight, first thing out of their mouths. I said, what do you want people to know? And they said, don't chew ice. It was overwhelmingly their number one tip. Chewing ice is notorious for causing, as you mentioned, small chips in your tooth enamel, the outer layer of your tooth.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
And these chips can develop into larger cracks that may require treatments like root canals, crowns, even surgical removal of the tooth. There's a terrifying phrase, right? And this all comes from chewing ice, which so many people do. Okay, what else do you have? This is about decluttering, always a hit in the early part of the year. Let go of that dusty box or bag of mystery chargers and cords.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
We all have it. Oh, my God. I feel seen. Let it out. How so? That bag is the most ridiculous bag of cords. Do you ever subtract from the bag? That's what a couple of the experts said to me. Or do you just add to it? Does it just get bigger and bigger?
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
Yes. So it's cords, it's chargers, it's remote controls from the Clinton administration. It's a bag of obsolete technology. Yes. And we have no idea what any of those cords are for, but we are very, very afraid to throw them out. So I should just throw this bag away. Okay, well, first separate everything into piles and think of all the things in your house that have cords or chargers.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
Go through and try them. If they don't work, it's likely that they don't. I don't want to be presumptuous. Then it's time to drop them off at a place that accepts electronic waste.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
Okay, I loved this one. It's, if you're feeling cynical, take 15 minutes and collect moments of moral beauty.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
That is a concept that was created by a researcher named Dr. Keltner, and he wrote a book called Awe. Mm-hmm. It's basically, you know, if you're losing faith in people, the world, politics, whatever... He says to take 15 minutes out of your day and pay attention to the moments of kindness all around you. I mean, it can be the tiniest moment.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
It can be when you're at a store and you see two people sort of joking around in the checkout line. Or when you are in traffic and somebody waves you in and you get that little rush of pleasure like, oh, thanks, and you hold up your hand. You know, you're like, aw. There's a lot of that out there if you pay attention. And you really only need about 15 minutes and you can collect...
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
10 things and they kind of reset you and remind you that a lot of people are good.
The Daily
The Year in Wisdom
Yes, even, you know, this morning when I was walking to work and I was in Penn Station and someone ahead of me had held the door open with their elbow so they don't get germs, you know, but it's an awkward thing to stick your elbow out like that for somebody. And I thought, hmm, that's nice. I do it without even thinking about it now, kind of record those moments.