Today's Challenge

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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is goals. Recently, Jon Acuff said that a group of high school students proclaimed that weight loss is the only legitimate reason for a goal. I don’t know if you’re feeling that wisdom, but they’re vocalizing what many people probably think. Goals are only for when you’re in a pickle. No! Goals are small markers for where you want to be. I bet every one of those high schoolers have dreams, but I bet most are scared to set goals to achieve those dreams. That makes the dream feel like work, and dreams are just supposed to be granted, right?

Today’s concrete challenge is to envision where you want to be next year. This could be a physical location, level of success, or any other life attribute that you truly want. Be honest with yourself about what’s feasible, but also stretch what you think is possible. If you want to take it one step further, make one micro-goal that will serve as a tiny mark of progress. You are capable of more than you know.

Let me know about your next year’s life at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is ugly, and it’s being put out to pasture. [horse whinny] If you’ve ever been called ugly, you know how devastating it is to have your features judged to be unattractive. Let’s retire this unkind and unhelpful word.

Today’s concrete challenge is to call someone or something beautiful. When’s the last time you used that word? See, the magic of beauty is that we can find it in almost anything when we’re looking for it. If you want a more enchanted and enjoyable experience of life, look for and label beauty. You’ll find it in some unexpected places.

Let me know where you found beauty at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

"Horse Whinny 1.wav" by GoodListener

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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is alive. What makes you feel most alive? For me, one of those things is waking up on the side of a mountain when I’m backcountry hiking. It feels so fresh outdoors in the morning.

Today’s concrete challenge is to do something today that makes you feel alive. Take a moment to consider what that is. Is it a quiet spot in the morning, a hard workout in the afternoon? Think about it and follow through on that thing that makes you feel alive today.

Let me know how it went at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is reminder. I wouldn’t say that my day hinges on reminders, but I do use them to offload future responsibilities. Repeating and distant events such as changing the oil in your car, changing your A/C filter, and registering for free birthday food at local restaurants can all be set and forget in your reminders app of choice.

Today’s concrete challenge is to try adding one reminder to your phone. I recommend using the virtual assistant and saying, “Remind me at time on date to responsibility.” For example, “Remind me at 9AM tomorrow to look at this reminder.”

Let me know how it went at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is consistent. What helps you to be more consistent? The pandemic of 2020 taught me that keeping the exact same schedule every day of every week helps me to be consistent in the small things. I started exercising more consistently, eating a salad for lunch almost every day, and cleaning the kitchen at the end of the day. It should be noted that a large part of my ability to do those things came from my wife’s help in childcare.

Today’s concrete challenge is to choose one thing that you want to be more consistent with. It needs to be something you care about deeply, because that will provide intrinsic motivation. Do you want to pray daily, stretch, or spend time with your family? Find a time that the activity naturally fits into your schedule and reserve that time specifically for that activity. When your calendar changes, find a new spot in your day for that important thing. You might find that consistency in just one activity helps you to be consistent in more areas of life.

Let me know your one thing at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

Today we have a special guest. This is my daughter, and she is turning 9 today. 

Birthdays are special. They are the one day of the year that is all about you, and you get celebrated!

This brings me to today’s word of the day. Celebrate. Today’s concrete challenge is to take a few minutes, just a few, to celebrate you. 

It can be with friends and family, or just some you time. So take some time today to celebrate you.

Let us know how it went at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is planning. At some point, I realized I am an adult. What makes an adult, though? Age is the obvious answer, but there are some 40-year-olds that might as well be 13, based on their behavior. I believe planning is a vital ingredient in adulthood. Every day requires planning when you are responsible for yourself and others.

Today’s concrete challenge is to plan one weekly recurring event. It could be something that you usually avoid planning, like grocery shopping, or maybe it’s a fun activity like a family or friends movie night. Whatever it is, put it in your phone’s calendar so that you get a little prompt each week to remind you to plan it. Good luck in your adulting.

Let me know what you choose to plan at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is home. Is there a difference to you between a house and a home? (pause) Sure, the difference is purely semantic, but, to me, home is a place where you should feel needed, cared for, and at peace. I remember living in a house at 21 years old with four friends and never feeling more restless and alone. I think it was because we didn’t deeply need each other. After that, I worked and lived at a boys’ home where most of the kids didn’t want me around, but I felt a sense of purpose and ownership. I felt needed.

Today’s concrete challenge is to have a conversation with the people in your house. Ask them what they think would make your home feel even more homey. It might be decorations, a daily or weekly discussion time, or some other connection ritual. Take whatever suggestions they have and make it a priority to implement them.

Let me know how it went at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is stupid, and it’s going into the lexical meat grinder. This may seem like a playground word, but I guarantee that it’s hurtful when you angrily call someone stupid. No one enjoys having their intellect demeaned. I noticed one day that my friend Kyle said something was silly when he would have previously said stupid. This small act taught me that silly is a good substitute for stupid. It allows you to call something into question in a less aggressive way.

Today’s concrete challenge is to switch to the word silly. When you want to say that something or someone is stupid, dim, dumb, foolish, dull-witted, slow-witted, witless, slow, dunce-like, simpleminded, empty-headed, vacuous, vapid, halfwitted, idiotic, moronic, muttonheaded, daft, barmy, not the full shilling, or thick as two short planks, try using silly instead.

Let me know how it goes at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

Meat grinder sound

Full transcript here 👋

Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is slowly. One time I got to go to Tanzania, Africa, and I learned a phrase in Swahili that has stuck with me for 20 years. When someone sees you stumble, they say, “Polepole.” It’s a way of showing care, but it’s also a reminder to slow down. Tanzanian culture emphasizes gradual progress. I didn’t get to hike up Kilimanjaro, but Tom Bouwer writes, “[our mountain guide told us] ‘everyone can go fast at 9,000 feet – I want you to be able to get to the top.’ In other words, by going slowly, we had a better chance of reaching our goal in less time.” Stephen Covey had a similar sentiment when he said, “With people, slow is fast and fast is slow.”

Today’s concrete challenge is to go slowly in one small aspect of your day. It could be a small moment with your family or friends where you stop what you’re doing to give them your undivided attention, or it might be a break that you take from work to go outside for a short walk. Consider NOT powering through every minute today and see if you ultimately get further and feel better. Polepole.

Let me know how it went at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

Pole Pole – A Lesson in Swahili