Goals – jpoulsenblog.com

Building Daily Reading Habits

Building a daily habit of reading can be a challenging task, but with a few simple strategies, it can become a regular and enjoyable part of your routine. The first step is to set a specific and achievable goal. This could be a certain number of pages per day or a specific book that you want to read within a certain timeframe. Setting a goal will give you something to work towards and will help to keep you motivated.

Next, find a time that works best for you to read. This could be first thing in the morning, during your lunch break, or before bed. Make sure to schedule this time into your daily routine and try to stick to it as much as possible. It can also be helpful to find a comfortable and quiet space where you can focus on your reading without distractions.

Another strategy to help build a daily reading habit is to make it a social activity. Join a book club or share your reading progress with friends and family. They can help to keep you accountable and can provide valuable support and encouragement.

If you are looking for additional support and guidance in building a daily habit of reading, I would be happy to connect with you as your coach. Together, we can set specific goals, create a reading plan and make it a daily habit. Feel free to reach out to me, and we can schedule a consultation.

What is getting in the way of your daily reading?

It takes more than what you doing to get better at what you’re doing.

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All your life you’ve wanted to become better at whatever you are doing and this morning while I was on the typical running loop around my neighborhood I had a thought that may help you get there. Prompted by the in-ear Nike run club coach, Chris Bennet, the idea struck me.

“It’s going to take more than this run to to become a better runner. It’s going to take quality recovery, nutrition, hydration, education, and more to become the better runner I know I can become.”

What struck me about this thought wasn’t so much the implication on my running hobby but more on my love for leadership and my community. If I want to make my community a better place its going to take more than what I’m doing now.

You’re like me and you want to do great things for your community. Well, it’s going to take more than doing what you’re doing to make that happen.

We want to improve the lives of those around us and help others find joy in the day to day. This is going to take more than the routine we’ve found ourselves living out each day of the week, each week of the month, each month of the year. It’s going to require a shift.

It’s going to require a shift in thinking, in doing, in action. to gain ground we are not required to make huge changes up front. I actually think the lasting most impactful improvements in our communities will come from small, incremental but powerful adjustments to our daily routine.

it takes more than what you’re doing to get better at what you’re doing. What you have been doing was enough to get you to where you are but it won’t be enough to get you where you want to go.

Put another way, What got you here won’t get you there.

So are you ready?
Here are some personal coaching questions you can use to pull yourself forward into that thinking and doing of impact.

Step 1…
First, right now, identify the specific area of desired improvement.
Is it your slow-lame running skills like me?
Is it your leadership and influence at work?
Is it your relationships at home or at play?
Is it the local community playground that needs some love?

Got it… Great now let’s move on to step 2.

Step 2…
How do you need to change the way you think about this so that you can improve it?
Here are some examples from my imagination to get you started.
– running example: learn about proper technique
– leadership example: don’t overthink it, encourage someone today
– relationship example: refuse to be silent, become more curious about what my friends need help with.
– playground example: stop waiting for someone from the parks department to knock on the door and ask me for help I commit to offer my help with specificity to the appropriate representative.

Step 3…
Take one small action today based on your new way of thinking.

Step 4…
Repeat step 3 until greatness is achieved

I hope this helps you today because I believe that better leadership means a better community and better communities mean a better world.

If this was helpful to you please tell me how in the comments and share it with a friend.

Advocacy without Inquiry is Incompetent

Advocacy is described as taking a stand that would bring assistance, advancement, encouragement, recommendation, or a sense of urgency on behalf of something or someone.

Dictionary.com tells us that Advocacy is the act of pleading for, supporting, or recommending; active espousal.

I want to suggest to you today that if you are not putting forth the effort to do a thorough inquiry into the perspectives of the people you are attempting to influence, your advocacy is, or will soon be, incompetent.

To promote, encourage, and champion a cause that is of any real value we will be required to convince people to learn something new. Our job as leaders and advocates is to be the vision champions, lead learners, and the chief inquiry experts. If people in our care don’t think we are willing to learn or grow with them we will become tyrants to them.

Would you join me in an effort to grow in the skill of inquiry?
If so, take this challenge:

This week: I will talk with someone about a controversial issue that I do not have a strong stance on and use these questions to assess my capacity for inquiry.

Before I speak on the subject I will ask myself:
– Have I achieved perfect knowledge in this matter?
– Am I open to continued learning?
– What inferences or assumptions am I making?
– What is the observable data I’m using to form my conclusions
– How has my thinking changed on this matter since learning new information?
– Who has helped me explore and challenge the data and my assumptions, inferences, and conclusions?

As I engage with others on the subject:
– Am I asking about their view honestly?
– Am I seeking to truly understand their conclusions?
– Do I explore, listen and offer my own perspective with a growth mindset?
– Do I listen for a larger meaning that could be emerging that would have gone undiscovered without the open sharing of thinking and perspective?

This month: I will listen closely to someone who is clearly on the opposing side of something I believe in strongly and only ask questions to better understand their perspective.

I believe that sharing what we learn is vital for the growth and health of our people. If you choose to join in with me on this practice of inquiry please come back and share what you’ve learned about advocacy and inquiry.

5 things I’ve learned from the 2020 pandemic

What I’m learning from the Pandemic may surprise you. Then again it might not. Either way, here’s 5 things I’ve learned so far.

1 – declaring undeclarables is a fast way to frustrate people and lose credibility.

2 – my son likes to listen to 90’s alternative rock while doing homework

3 – I like exercising just because it makes me feel good

4 – the church doesn’t need a building

5 – my son makes AMAZING scrambled eggs!

How about you? what is one or two things the pandemic has taught you?