Today's Challenge

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is template. If you’ve ever created something regularly, you’ve probably seen the benefit of having a template. My friend, Kristen, made pin-on buttons for bands in her 20’s, and the business she built revolved around that tiny button-shaped template. She didn’t have to remake her process every time a new order came in. Print the images, cut them out, press them into buttons. That template kept her moving forward. I realize that templates are somewhat limiting, but as we looked at in “38 - Limit,” it’s possible to be creative within boundaries. I’ve done the same with this podcast. You can see how my template has evolved over the past few months, and that’s what I want to point out today. You may be tempted to focus on creating a perfect template before you get started. However, if you go back to early episodes of one of my favorite podcasts, Hidden Brain, you can see that they were developing their template on the fly. Go ahead and start (and yes, it may be ugly at first), but keep track of what parts you want to keep in your template. That way, when you get stuck, you can rely on your template to guide and motivate your action.

Today’s concrete challenge is to create or refine your template. Don’t be fooled into thinking this only applies to business or creative pursuits. I also have a template for my evening. Dinner, clean up, wrestle with kids, relax with wife.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will write down a rough idea of a template in my life.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who is organized.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is safety. Becoming responsible for more than just yourself really shifts your perspective on safety. I look back on my choices as a teenager and even into my 20’s that were just plain dangerous and cringe. Terrible things could have happened, but they somehow didn’t. I still have a mixed relationship with safety, though. I like to take my kids on rides around our local area, but that includes riding close to cars. In fact, my son recently fell off the sidewalk and into the road. Thankfully, the person driving close to us swerved well out of the way. Risk is a part of life. How much of it should we invite into our lives? I’m a fan of authors that encourage their readers to let children experience some risk in titles such as 50 Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do), The Coddling of the American Mind, and GIST: The Essence of Raising Life-Ready Kids. I guess my personal answer to “How much risk?” is “Enough that it makes you a little uncomfortable but not so much that it makes your stomach hurt.”

Today’s concrete challenge is to stretch your comfort just a little by planning something for yourself or those around you that feels a tiny bit dangerous. As an example, I’m going to offer my kids the chance to experience electricity by sticking a 9V battery to their tongue. Disclaimer: I don’t recommend doing something that’s overtly dangerous. Consult a doctor or someone with some sense if you’re not sure.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will plan one not-too-dangerous activity.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who embraces tiny risks.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is refrain. I’m guessing that, since you’re a human, you’ve said things that you wish you could take back. I was thinking recently about alternate realities, and the easiest way to explore them is through writing. Songwriting, in particular, is how I’ve thought through how badly things can go in life and relationships. I’ve seen, in my imagination, the possible hurt that I’ve caused by saying anything and everything that comes into my head during times of conflict. It ain’t pretty. Sometimes, all you can do is refrain from delivering that verbal jab, but sometimes that’s exactly what your relationships need.

Today’s concrete challenge is to refrain from saying an angry, rude, or hurtful comment. Use this litmus test before speaking: “Is it helpful? Is it kind?” Repeat those to yourself throughout the day so that they’re top of mind when you get into a conflict.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will practice the phrases, ‘Is it helpful? Is it kind?’ right now.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who thinks before I speak.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is inadequate, and we’re washing it down the drain. Adequacy may feel like a low bar, but sometimes doing the minimum is all we can muster. Dan Harris interviewed a couple whose child had been very sick. I can’t imagine the pressures they experienced, and one of them, Miguel Sancho, admitted that he made the situation worse for his family a few times. He said he had to strive for adequacy. My wife has confronted me more than once about an agreement I made to clean the showers and tubs in our house. Defensively, I have vowed in the past to clean them even more frequently than we first agreed. My wife doesn’t need a clean tub hero, though. She needs “adequate.”

Today’s concrete challenge is to strive for adequacy in an area where you feel you are falling down. Have a conversation with someone you trust or do some journaling to figure out where you feel inadequate and what action would help you feel adequate. Keep it simple and ask, “What have I agreed to do?” At the same time, know that we all have failings. You, as a whole, are adequate.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will strive for adequacy today.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who feels adequate, overall.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

#346 The Gospel of Adequacy | Miguel Sancho & Felicia Morton

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is letter. Gratitude letters are a common refrain in positive and pop psychology, and if you aren’t familiar, here’s how they’re supposed to work. You pick someone that has made a positive difference in your life, someone that you’ve never fully thanked for their impact. Write a short letter of just a couple paragraphs and then read it aloud to them. Yeah, that last part is somewhat intimidating, but it’s the element that makes the experience so memorable. Researchers have found that people who follow through with the reading report a boost in happiness, even weeks later. I wrote a gratitude letter to both of my parents during the summer of 2020, and I have no regrets. I admit that I was nervous to read the letter aloud, but I will always be happy that I did it.

Today’s concrete challenge is to write a gratitude letter to someone you’d like to thank for their influence on your life. Go ahead and sketch out what you would say to them, and don’t feel like you have to make it sound good. Keep it simple and genuine.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will stop for a couple of minutes and write down a grateful note.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who demonstrates my gratitude.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

Gratitude Letter | Practice | Greater Good in Action

Episode 2: PJ and Alex Love to Gripe — The Happiness Lab

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is perspective. Last night, my perspective shifted. While watching The Truth About Killer Robots, I did not become more afraid of robots. I was, however, alarmed at how different my life is from factory workers in China. I was struck by how easy and spacious my life is compared to the majority of the people in the world. As we looked at in episode “70 - Normal,” because I don’t see the lives of others, I think my life is typical. It’s not, though. If you want to compare your income to the world, search for the phrase, “How rich am I?,” in a web browser. It just might change your perspective.

Today’s concrete challenge is to send a “Thank you” letter to Chinese workers that build the majority of our precious electronics. These are the very workers that are being edged out of work by robots and automation. Some gratitude is due. Unfortunately, there’s not an easy way that I can find to send a letter directly to workers, so I’m going to email [email protected] with my letter.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will write and send a ‘Thank you’ letter to Chinese factory workers.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who appreciates different perspectives.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

How Rich Am I?

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is optional. Well, optional is the mandatory word of the day. I focused in episode “51 - Half” on shortening the field in Capture the Flag, but I also mentioned another change that I believe made the game more fun. Participation was made optional, because it’s difficult to force people to have fun. Forced fun has actually become a meme for the simple fact that it’s ridiculous. I was reminded of this by Dr. Katy Milkman when she was interviewed by Dan Harris on his 10 Percent Happier podcast. Dr. Milkman says that gamification can easily backfire when employers force everyone to participate. Optionality increases your feeling of control, and as we looked at in episode “62 - Repetitive,” we’re willing to increase our effort when we feel in control of the activity. How can you give the people around you the option of participating?

Today’s concrete challenge is to make participation optional. One way I do this with my family is by asking. I’ll often ask my kids to put on their shoes, instead of ordering them to do it. It isn’t always effective, but it at least gives them some level of control in the situation.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will find a way to give the option of participating.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you think it through, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who makes participation optional when possible.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

#345 How to Change Your Habits | Katy Milkman

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is persistent. As a child, my favorite movie was The Wizard of Oz. We had a VHS copy that was recorded from a network channel broadcast, and I watched it for years. I recently read the book by L. Frank Baum with my son. I was amazed once again with the persistence of the protagonists, maybe even more so in the book. What made them so sure about their destination? I think the “road of yellow bricks,” as it was originally called, provided a mental anchor for these fictional characters. It helped them to persevere through a dangerous forest and across a raging river because they could see that they were going in the right direction. Unfortunately, we don’t have such a clear indicator, but it’s also kind of nice that we have the option of charting our own course. We can create our own yellow brick road through persistence. To do this, find an action that you want to perform regularly, something that creates value for yourself and maybe even for others. For me, persistence in writing these podcast episodes has been like creating one brick a day that I can lay down in front of myself to build a road. I don’t know where it’s leading, but the process is satisfying.

Today’s concrete challenge is to start or continue building your yellow brick road. Write down the action that helps you regularly create a brick. Commit to persistently performing that action in order to amass enough bricks to build a road. 

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will choose an action that creates lasting value and persist.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who persists, even through trying times.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is small. My wife and I were out one evening and happened to stop by a discount store. We found some wool dryer balls that bounce around among your drying clothes and help to increase efficiency and decrease drying time. We tried them and now use them in almost every dryer load. My wife thought about getting more, and I read a few reviews out of curiosity. One person thought that they were a waste of money because they only decrease drying time by 10 minutes. That’s about 15% faster on every load, though. This kind of thinking is why not everyone has a huge savings account. Any time you can get a 15% return, especially on an investment that you can reuse, do it! Saving 10 minutes on a load of laundry per day adds up to 60 HOURS over a year that your dryer isn’t running. Imagine running your dryer for 2 and a half days straight because you didn’t think it was worth simply tossing wool balls in with each load.

Today’s concrete challenge is to look for small savings. You could purchase some wool dryer balls if you don’t have any, or you could adjust your budget to save a small amount of your paycheck each week or month. Take advantage of compounding interest in a mutual fund, and you’ll see even more return for your small investment.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will find a small way to save today.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who understands how small savings accumulate.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations

Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is support. What are some difficult areas of your life? [pause] For me, sleep has become increasingly problematic. It’s certainly not the simple affair that it was when I was 20 or younger. This has caused me to look for sleep supports. My wife laughs when I get ready for bed, because I look like I’m getting dressed for some strange sport. Carpal tunnel wrist splints, a left elbow splint, an anti-grinding mouth guard, a knee pillow that looks like an inflated sideways knee pad, an oversized sleep mask, socks, and sometimes a little silicone nasal passage opener are my uniform for sleep. These supports may seem like overkill, but I feel it when I don’t use them. Author Ben Greenfield lays out all the things he’s tried to increase his sleep quality in his book, Boundless. Spoiler alert: It’s way more than me! Think back to your answer to a difficult area of your life. What’s one support that you could try to find out if it increases your quality of life by even 1%? Speaking of small changes, tomorrow, we’ll look at tiny, incremental improvement and why it’s valuable.

Today’s concrete challenge is to write down your difficult area of life and one support that you’d like to try. Here’s an example. If you have difficulty waking up in the morning try supporting your wakefulness by moving your phone or alarm to a spot where you have to walk to turn it off. You could also have coffee auto-brew, as mentioned in a previous episode. 

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will write and try one support for a problem area in my life.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who is willing to try a change.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/today/donations