Less Stress Family Podcast: Recent Episodes
Justin and Shawna Wood
Are you tired of the negative stress in your life? Is this stress leading you to doubt yourself as a spouse, parent, and friend? With 15 years of an arranged marriage, 6 biological kids, foster parenting and running our own business . . . we share lessons from our successes and failures. Come join the community and start Less Stressing.
Today, we look at your next step of improvement in life. We talk about the 5 -2 -1- 0 and 10 measure for your health and the 5 second a day way to evaluate change and transformation in your day.
We want to say thank you for all the fantastic feedback about the podcast. January was very hectic for us and we enjoyed the month off.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Here is the full Sing A Long CD. We made it to be a blessing to anyone who is feeling lonely and isolated.
Like Shawna said in the intro of this episode, imagine 16 of us with half a dozen instruments coming into your living room, drinking coffee and singing songs. It is fun chaos!
This is free so please share it freely with anyone who might need some encouragement!
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Traditions can bring stability and purpose to your life. Today we talk through how Christmas traditions like St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucy Day, Christmas Caroling and Finding Baby Jesus bring meaning to our family. Movies like = The Nativity, The Man who Invented Christmas, A Christmas Carol all build a rich tradition in our family.
But we have to communicate to our kids and to ourselves why we are going through the traditions that we have. Expressing the "why" can make space for such awesome memory making.
Christmas is just 1 day. We can build meaningful traditions into every aspect of our life.
Merry Christmas!
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
We have learned that if we don't learn a lesson in life, then we often have to re-take the test. We don't want to re-take the tests from 2020.
So here are ten things we have learned or had reconfirmed in 2020:
- Do the new thing = launch a podcast.
- Your environment is your cookie cutter.
- Routines are essential.
- Life is very short.
- Build redundancy in every area of life that you can.
- Self learning is always best.
- Slow down and reconnect with what is important.
- Who are the real heroes?
- We need a lot more dialogue to combat the polarization.
- Don't waste a good crisis.
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
In November 2020, our dear Grandma June passed away. This episode is dedicated to her memory and life.
What you do matters! Living an ordinary life is more than ok.
https://www.facebook.com/100766271391212/videos/3548322861927487
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Today, we are coaching ourselves through transition and changed. We all have seasons of transition and change. It is okay to feel a bit nervous about the unknown. However, you don't have to feel completely out of control during a time of change in your life.
Focus on what you can control. Today we talk about:
staying positive and thankful
putting a time line on the change
see it as a challenge not a problem
think about benefits
plan out the simple things more during transition
reflect and journal (don't be surprised if bigger issues come up)
visual the process
maintain some simple, basic routines.
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
We are both super EXCITED about Thanksgiving and Christmas this year!! Why? Because we have decided to get back to the basics.
We discuss how to de-stress your holidays with some very simple adjustments that we have learned over the years.
We talk about:
Too Much of everything
Scheduling
Sugar Intake
Unrealistic expectations
and Being Unprepared
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Politics stress got you down? Some people said that this 2020 election was the most stressful day in their life. Good grief people!! Get a grip!!
In 1796, George Washington gave a farewell address and talked about the dangers of political parties and how they divide people - ultimately causing us great stress.
"They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests." - George Washington
"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty." - George Washington
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=15&page=transcript
Hope all of you are doing fantastic! We just have a full week this week of living life so we are going to shut down the podcast for this week. If you really want to hear our voice this week, there are over 150 episodes archived. Enjoy this awesome week. Remember that What You Do Matters!!!!
Self Sabotage is when you block yourself from reaching your own goals. Things like: chronic lateness, procrastination, perfectionism, negative self talk, etc.
Shawna is going through some professional development where she realized that there is some self sabotage going on. So we have been talking about the story or stories that go with that self sabotage behavior. Why?
We also talk about Fixed vs Growth Mindset and how we need to develop the habits of a life long learner to overcome self sabotage.
https://daringtolivefully.com/ability-to-learn
https://jamesclear.com/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mindset
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Episode is Live
Published: Oct. 23, 2020 @12AM Edit
Unpublish
Add a Transcript
Get episode better indexed by search engines.
Add Chapter Markers
Listeners can tap through & see what’s coming up.
Create a Visual SoundbiteBest way to share to social media for engagement.
Share Episode On
More Options
Email Link to Episode
Direct Link to MP3
Embed this ONE Episode
Today we talk about how we choose to be stressed in life. Sure, there are hard times but how we handle the situation is the key.
I (Justin) cut out most news and stressful media for over a week. Instead, I listened to encouraging podcasts and youtube videos. Shawna noticed a big difference in that week of time.
We refuse to allow stressed out to be the new normal in our life.
We are replacing the words "busy and stressed" with "full and at peace".
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
We are NOT talking about another virus you should be concerned about. We talk about Irlen Syndrome (Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome) and some things you might need to know.
We discuss how our discovery that 1 of our kids had it has opened us up to all of us getting tested for it. We got our son glasses and he is on pace to advance 2.5 grade levels in reading this year!! No joke. Our glasses have been ordered and we should get them in a couple of weeks.
Dyslexia, reading problems, headaches from light, light sensitivity, autism spectrum, ADHD, concussion syndrome, brain trauma => These can all have links into Irlen Syndrome.
This is not an eye problem but rather a brain processing issue that an estimated 14% of people have.
https://irlen.com/what-is-irlen-syndrome/
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
You are the leader of yourself.
You are the leader of others (whether you like it or accept it).
We discuss chapter 2 of the book Extreme Ownership.
We also talk about:
How face to face communication is so important in good leadership.
How you have to have your team's best in mind as you lead.
How there are 2 parts to the equation: the goal/mission and the team dynamics (you will probably spend half your time on each)
https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1250067057
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
I (Justin) have fought routine and structure most of my life. I don't like to be told what to do with my time. But I keep finding that routines make my life and my family's life so much better.
Just a couple of small changes in your life can really create a better flow for your entire day.
We talk about how helpful routines allow you to go into auto-pilot and get so much stuff done in your day.
Start your routine building with simple things that help you, help your spouse, and help your kids.
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Our goal in this episode is to talk through some of the complexity with needing but also being over dependent on technology.
There is never a good time to unplug from technology. Well, we went on this camping trip and we didn't use our screens and technology. Wow. We actually had to deal with our own feelings and our own thoughts a little bit.
We all get sucked into our screens and technology.
We talk about the complexity of our need for technology in 2020.
We talk about the addiction for technology in 2020.
"I Forgot My Phone"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Overcoming Fear. You probably have this mastered. Right?
"Fear is a liar with a smooth and velvet tongue."
Perfect love casts at fear.
Focusing on your fear will steal your peace and weaken your immune system.
We talk in this episode about some practical steps to overcome fear. We talk about our journey and dealing with fear.
https://reallifecounseling.us/overcome-fear-and-anxiety/
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Journaling is a great tool to have in your toolbox.
Neuroscience is showing us that writing things down makes a greater impact on your brain (and ultimately your whole self).
Shawna and I have been greatly impacted by the journaling of Anne Franke, George Mueller, Thomas Merton and Mark Virkler.
We cover some helpful tips for journaling well.
https://www.cwgministries.org/Four-Keys-to-Hearing-Gods-Voice
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Today, we flip the script and talk about what to do to stay stressed, negative and miserable. Sometimes it is helpful to look at life from a different perspective.
These negative habits are very small, but holding onto them for long periods of time will exhaust you:
Don't be thankful.
Stay default pessimistic.
Focus on perfection.
Maintain a negative physical atmosphere.
Neglect your body.
Confuse what you can and cannot control.
Then worry about what you cannot control.
Don't rest.
Only think Binary.
Keep your body, mind, emotions all separate.
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
If your purpose and "why" are clear, then you will win if you don't quit. Sure, your activities and tactics may change over time, but if you keep the goal in mind, then you will succeed.
Our society teaches us that the easy path is the best path. We falsely think that if it hurts or is difficult then we must be doing something wrong.
That is simply not the case. Embrace the grind now so that you will reap the benefits later.
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Be proactive and write your own headlines: Husband loves his Wife! Parents have an Awesome Day with Their Kids! Neighbors Show Great Kindness to Each Other!
Multiple people this past week have told Shawna that the news headlines have raised their blood pressure or caused them great stress. Stop it!!!
Shawna's new mission in life is to have people write their own headlines for their day, week, month, year and life.
Of course, we need to know what's happening, but do not give up your control of your own life. The headlines in the news are toxic places to live. Don't live there.
You have the power every day and every hour of each day to write your own headlines. Live in that story.
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
This year 2020, is forcing us to ask a lot of questions about "why" and the "purpose" of many things.
Finding your purpose is a journey that we keep refining on a continual basis.
Shawna reads a story about finding purpose:
https://betterlifecoachingblog.com/2013/07/19/panning-for-gold-a-story-about-finding-your-purpose-in-life/
We visit 10 questions that Jack Spirko asked about finding your why:
http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/why-and-your-passion
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Part 2
We continue with our look at wisdom from Robin Sharma. We need more and more wisdom in our society because we are becoming more and more foolish.
We have said numerous times that information does not equal transformation.
A famous quote (that I have now seen attributed to multiple people) says, "Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day."
We look at some wisdom from Robin Sharma.
https://www.robinsharma.com/article/25-life-lessons-i-wish-i-knew-at-25
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Part 1 Make a place for wisdom in your life!!
Where is wisdom in our society today? One could argue that we are the smartest people ever to exist, yet we lack wisdom in our relationships, dealing with people we disagree with and the way we live our life.
We have said numerous times that information does not equal transformation.
A famous quote (that I have now seen attributed to multiple people) says, "Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day."
We look at some wisdom from Robin Sharma.
https://www.robinsharma.com/article/25-life-lessons-i-wish-i-knew-at-25
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
I (Justin) had a friend keep coming to mind. I prayed for him but I didn't really reach out to him for a couple of weeks. Turns out, he has been going through some difficult times with work and family. It made me realize that burn out is a very real problem that many of us face in 2020.
We talk through the 5 stages of burnout.
Then we discuss ways to recover from burnout (it isn't a quick fix).
Again, this stuff is simple, but we need to be watching out for our own self and also the people that we love because stress is grinding away at people. Be alert and considerate when dealing with burn out.
https://www.thisiscalmer.com/blog/5-stages-of-burnout
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/burnout-recovery
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Since Justin wrote his devotional book, he has had a difficult time of seeing himself as an "author" because it wasn't part of his story.
When you grow and develop, the story inside your head must change. You must see yourself and accept yourself in this new reality.
We talk through the 5 different types of Imposter Syndrome that Dr. Valerie Young articulates. This is such helpful stuff for you to use on yourself and anyone you know. It is a great help to accelerate you forward as you rewrite the story in your mind.
"This psychological phenomenon, known as imposter syndrome, reflects a belief that you're an inadequate and incompetent failure despite evidence that indicates you're skilled and quite successful." - Melody J. Wilding
https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-different-types-of-imposter-syndrome-and-5-ways-to-battle-each-one
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Here is the bottom line: In 2020, you can even develop your gratitude muscles or you can practicing being a jerk and just not fun to be with.
We know that we have talked about thankfulness a lot, but being thankful is probably the single practice that will keep you from sliding into misery and hatefulness (just look around you).
If we are going to overcome the challenges of 2020, you have to walk out these 10 things.
We share a great article from the Dave Ramsey blog about the benefits of being thankful.
https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/10-reasons-im-thankful-for-thankfulness
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
School routines have re-started and we are focused on enjoying the now. Autumn is an awesome time to experience life.
Today we talk about some simple but profound things we can all do to enjoy life in the Fall. Because if you are waiting on the news to find your happiness, then you are wasting your time.
https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/fall-activities
Email = woodfamily@lsfpodcast.com
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Our 2nd son has very strong perfectionist tendencies so we as parents have been working with him and with our own selves to develop ourselves more.
Perfectionism is trying to "arrive" completely around that particular thing or event.
It is essential to shift to thinking about growth as the goal and not perfectionism.
We use this article to help frame some things we can do better for our son:
https://www.theemotionmachine.com/how-perfectionism-destroys-happiness/
We go through a lot of examples in our own life that hinge on 2 things:
First, happiness is not a good goal, but you can do some things to enjoy those happy times more deeply.
Second, communicating and interacting are really essential for digesting happiness. This means you have to deal with the negatives aspects of relationships and people to get to the happy stuff. If you isolate yourself and your experiences all the time, it is hard to cultivate the necessary connections to sustainable happiness.
Third, we talk about some ways to live in this moment and enjoy it.
https://www.theemotionmachine.com/savoring-happiness-how-to-prolong-any-positive-experience/
Here are the easy steps for having a quality family devotion:
1st - don't wait to feel holy or spiritual. You won't.
2nd - read through a short Bible passage (like 10 verses or less - less is better)
3rd - read through the same Bible passage again but leave some blanks as you read (we demonstrated this with our kids on the podcast)
4th - then we ask what you like, what you disliked, what you learn about God, what you learn about people
5th - a short and sweet prayer to close
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
This episode is just to encourage you to remember the elderly and shut ins who are around you. In a covid safe manner, find ways to connect with them.
Saturday, we have huge plans to go singing in some elderly people's yards. We are joining our friends - Jon, Mandi and my parents (Justin). We are just going to drive to their homes, keep a safe distance from them in their yard and sing some songs.
We share some songs from our sing along last week that we plan to make into a CD for those who are shut-in. I can't type out who played what instruments but here is a list of people involved in those songs: Gerald, Karen, Derek, Jon, Mandi, Calynn, Peyton, Jon W, Justin, Shawna, Xavier, Ephraim, Perez, Asher, Hosanna, Ezra.
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Awkwardness. Who enjoys it? Join us today as we talk through awkwardness and how to move through it into the growth process.
But can you think of a single thing in your life that wasn't awkward at first?
Learning to walk. Learning to eat with a fork. Learning to read. Learning to drive. 1st day at work. 2nd day at work. 1st date. 2nd date.
We get stress out when we want to be smooth and look great at something the first or second time that we do it.
We have to understand that awkwardness is part of the growth process.
Hugging your teenager. Saying "I love you". Trying a new exercise. These are the awkward things that make you a better person in the long run.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/contemporary-psychoanalysis-in-action/201602/why-do-i-feel-so-awkward
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
My dad and mom have an amazing gift of hospitality. We have just spent 2 days at their house recording music, eating great food and hanging out. It has been a real blessing!
In this episode, we talk about the challenges of covid, but we encourage you to find a way to engage with others and practice some old school people skills as appropriate.
We talk about meeting outdoors, using paper products and some other things to practice hospitality in 2020.
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
This discussion comes from James Clear's Atomic Habits and it started in episode 125 about how to start the 1% improvement lifestyle.
I (Justin) removed the TV from our living room because of the happiness that I felt when measuring backwards. I realized how happy I felt when I could just sit in my chair and not turn on the chaos in the world. Such a peaceful place.
James Clear points out that when we set goals and plan for the future, we often set ourselves up for failure because we don't consider what brought us to this point. When we don't consider our recent activities and achievements, we aim for a horizon that will never arrive.
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Food Freedom!! We struggled to find a way to eat healthy and not feel hungry.
Corey and Hollie first introduced us to Trim Healthy Mama and this pattern has become the way we have judged all other meals and diet plans.
We give an overview of how this way of approaching food has shifted us. We lay out the general philosophy and application.
This is a great system for understanding food and you can find practitioners all over the world now.
https://trimhealthymama.com/
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
Some times things just click. Things clicked for me (Justin) when I read James Clear's explanation of 1% improvements.
I applied this to our family with 100 pennies laid out on the floor during our devotional time. I told them that most people do not value a penny enough to pick it up because it is only 1% of a dollar. But if they ( my kids) will improve just 1% in something every day, then they will be 37x better in that area in 1 year.
James Clear lays out the British cycling team that began to dominate the world but just making very small changes. Basically, our new year resolution approach to life leads us to a boom and bust cycle. We go over the 3 practical steps needed to change your life by just doing these simple 1% improvements.
https://jamesclear.com/continuous-improvement
Art Work: Shawna
Intro Voice: Hosanna, Asher, Ezra
Intro and Outro Music:
Acoustic guitar - Justin
Bass - Xavier
Electric Guitar - Ephraim
Djembe drum - Perez
Shakes and Rattles - Shawna, Hosanna, Ezra
www.lsfpodcast.com for our free morning planner for adults and kids.
Facebook = Less Stress Family Podcast
Shawna = Instagram @shawnashereewood
If you are exhausted at the end of the day (every day), but you aren't getting what you need out of life, then you might need to reconsider your to do list.
We share the story about how a lion can hunt mice all day and basically starve over time (not enough calories in vs calories out) OR the same lion can hunt the bigger game that will sustain the pride (group of lions).
We talk about inputs, outputs of time, energy, and value.
Obviously, evaluating your inputs correctly can take a lot of experience, but it is essential that we apply the Pareto (80/20) principle to all areas of our life. Otherwise that part of life will be chasing mice and starving over time.
Shawna has been working hard to practice the NOW - meaning that she has focused more and more about the present and the LORD's Presence.
Some people are geared to dwell in the past which can lead to depression, regret, anger.
Some people are geared to dwell in the future which can lead to rush, worry anxiety.
If you can learn to live in the right now, then you can experience more peace, grounding, and joy.
We read the amazing Derek Sivers story about riding his bike 43 minutes vs 45 minutes.
https://sive.rs/relax
Do you remember Opposite Day in elementary school with your friends?
We dive into Tim Ferris' story about doing the opposite in his first sales job. He stopped calling from 9 to 5. Instead, he started calling from 7 to 8:30 in the morning and then after the 5pm work stop. Why? because the gatekeepers were not there during those hours and he could often talk to the real decision makers.
Ask yourself if you can do the opposite in regards to your timing, your doing, your sourcing. We give some examples of ways that Covid has forced us to do the opposite.
In this Part 2 = The enneagram is such a useful tool because it shows your blindspots (episodes 98, 99, 100) and it also shows your how you act in stress. I (Justin) was super blown away because the enneagram nailed my stress response tendencies.
We have used these stress tendencies to become aware when we are stressing out or when our spouse is stressing out or when our kids are stressing out.
We are able to give ourselves and our family members and our co-workers are lot more grace when we can see the stress patterns that the enneagram shows to us.
Today we cover numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and how each number acts when under stress.
https://www.enneasight.com/2011/07/enneagram-type-under-stress/
www.enneagraminstitute.com
In this Part 1 = The enneagram is such a useful tool because it shows your blindspots (episodes 98, 99, 100) and it also shows your how you act in stress. I (Justin) was super blown away because the enneagram nailed my stress response tendencies.
We have used these stress tendencies to become aware when we are stressing out or when our spouse is stressing out or when our kids are stressing out.
We are able to give ourselves and our family members and our co-workers are lot more grace when we can see the stress patterns that the enneagram shows to us.
Today we give an intro to the enneagram and movement in stress. We cover numbers 3,6,9 today because they make a nice little enclosed triangle in the enneagram structure.
https://www.enneasight.com/2011/07/enneagram-type-under-stress/
www.enneagraminstitute.com
The school year is a great to time refocus your time and energy so we talk about 6 tips that will allow you to have the best school year.
2020 is going to be a challenging year because there are so many unknowns with Covid, but if you do these things, we promise you will have a successful year.
- Secure your Bedtime and Morning Routines
- Choose healthy choices - diet, sleep, exercise, water, etc.
- Ownership of school gear
- Create learning spaces at home ( for you and your kids)
- Very clear Communication between spouses, kids, teachers, and changing school policy
- Focus on the good things for each day
The word Hygge (who guh) is a Danish concept that basically means feeling content and well being thru enjoying the simple thing.
Denmark is one of the happiest places on the earth and there is a lot of research about why that is.
We need to learn and develop "we" time with the ones we love. This takes effort and focus.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_secret_to_danish_happiness
We are not doctors and we do NOT give out medical advice.
BUT we are tired of hearing all about illness and sickness and germs.
Very few people are talking about boosting your immune system. We look at many of the simple things you can do to boost your immune system. Of course, we are not saying you won't get sick. But if your immune system is strong, you can fight illness better.
https://www.evms.edu/media/evms_public/departments/internal_medicine/EVMS_Critical_Care_COVID-19_Protocol.pdf
https://draxe.com/health/how-to-boost-your-immune-system/
In today's episode, we talk about the need for people to develop depth in their spirit/soul. Just like we need to do exercises to strengthen our bodies, we need to do spiritual exercises to strengthen our spirit/soul.
Some benefits of spiritual disciplines (from the link below):
- Delay gratification
- Receive insight
- Hear God’s voice/one’s inner voice
- Make better decisions
- Remain centered and unaffected by external events
- Demonstrate moral courage
- Detach from distractions
- Feel inner peace
- Behave unselfishly
- Act with practical wisdom
- Follow one’s own course
- Endure hardship
- Forge good habits
- Conquer the worst parts of yourself
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/introduction-spiritual-disciplines
This episode is really about being kind to yourself and kind to others.
I (Justin) was pretty skeptical about talking about grieving and the state of the world, but we read about what expert David Kessler says about grief and the different kinds of grief. Also, I learned that the steps of grief aren't necessarily linear. You can jump around the grieving process.
This episode is just a caution to look at your own life and your spouse and kids and friends. Give yourself and others some grace as we figure out the new normals of life.
https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief
https://johnpavlovitz.com/2019/02/21/everyone-around-you-is-grieving-go-easy/
It is time to prepare your mind and heart for the fall of 2020. We have this Covid thing, elections, potential universal homeschool, and whatever else you want to put into the blank.
To reframe this in a positive manner, it is a good time to take more ownership of your life.
Let's assume this is the end of the 1st quarter of this covid life. What things do you need to change? What have you done well? What do you need to improve?
Here are the areas we are addressing in our home:
Essentials (M&Ms)
Indoor Home Improvements
Outdoor Home Improvements
Find New Hobbies
Homeschool/Education Updates
Potential Change in Income/Finances
Health and Nutrition
https://www.evms.edu/media/evms_public/departments/internal_medicine/Marik-Covid-Protocol-Summary.pdf
Spiritual Growth for all Our Family
Well, we needed to laugh so we just told jokes this episode.
The joke we told about sodium atoms and Batman:
On the periodic table, sodium is NA. So sodium is Na so Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Batman
Obviously, we are not talking about the physical infection of the Covid 19 virus.
But we are talking about the emotional and relational impact that Covid 19 is having on marriages.
Solutions include:
Self Care - you have to find new times for youself
Get out of the Rut
Actually, Pay attention to your emotions
Ask questions and actually listen to your spouse
Share a bigger vision with your spouse than just the day to day, week to week routine
Become more aware of God's Presence
There are 2 kinds of stress: good stress (eustress) and bad stress (distress)
The purpose of this episode is to talk about how you need to start having a scale in your mind about the stress you encounter.
If you only encounter bad stress, then you are going to have emotional and physical problems in the long term.
You need to balance out the negative with doing something positive. We talk in this episode about how Shawna finally a breakthrough with cold showers. There are a million things you can do to get the good stress going. Start today.
https://www.cascadementalhealth.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=15644&cn=117
We have seen some real breakthrough with our kids by incorporating some simple hobbies in our life. The idea of a hobby can seem overwhelming but it doesn't have to be.
We talk about how we set up a corner of the basement as a no electronic area for arts, crafts and board games. Our kids have spent hours every day down there. HUGE victory for us and our daily routine.
We also talk about how running (Justin and the boys) has decreased stress with the boys.
We go through about 50 things that can become hobbies. Very simple but very very rewarding.
A guy named Alex came and lived with me (Justin) in Ethiopia for a couple of months. Alex was a dynamic guy who had an awesome testimony. Alex talked with such honor about his brother who was a Navy Seal. Alex told me about a guy named Jocko and something called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Turns out, Alex's brother was one of Jocko's platoon leader.
In today's episode, we go over how ego and pride will keep you from becoming a great leader. We briefly cover the 1st chapter of this great book - Extreme Ownership.
We have to lead people who are above us and below us in the chain of command. We lead them well by being humble with our pride. We don't look for someone to blame. We know that when something doesn't happen, it is our fault.
Get the book.
With Covid uncertainty everywhere, everyone needs to have a homeschool back up plan.
We have a lot of years of homeschool experience so here goes:
You as a parent care more for your child's educational success than anyone else on the planet.
1st, include lifeskills as part of your school. On age appropriate levels, you kids need to know how to clean, prepare food, and do laundry. Lifeskills are not on a math test, but are so important.
2nd - group your kids together when possible. History, science, health, PE and electives all scale up or down. You can teach these classes to all your kids and then add more for the older ones. Just make 1 lesson plan for these classes.
3rd - The entire goal of all education is to have independent learners. Teach your kids how to learn. Agendas/ assignment notebooks, and curriculum maps will help you chart out a daily, weekly process.
4th - Establish a routine that works for you. Most of public and private school time is not educational time. You can cover a lot material when your kids get into a routine.
5th - Connect with local homeschoolers who did homeschool pre-covid.
This podcast is dedicated to one of my best friends - Keith Garmon. He passed away this morning after a 3 year battle with stage 4 cancer.
Keith loved to worship the LORD. Keith loved his family. Keith was hilarious.
With death totals continually in the news these days, we thought it was a good time to talk.
We sat down with our kids this morning and talked about Keith's pass with our kids. We told them the following:
1st - knowing the LORD is the most important thing you will ever do. It is a daily walk.
2nd - Live a life of peace.
3rd - Love your family.
4th - Do your best, give a 110% when you work, eat, play video games.
Watch any road race from kids, high school to adults. You will watch some runners go out too fast. By the end of the race, their wheels have "fallen off".
A lot of people have lost their wheels during this covid crisis because they started off going too hard and too fast. This thing is now a marathon and not a sprint.
In this episode, we look at the Ziglar wheel of life and rank each category as being bored, comfortable, stretched, strained or burned out. This is a really good episode to reflect on your life and where you are stressed out.
Good habits make your life and business flow so much more smoothly. On the opposite side of the spectrum, bad habits can crush your success.
"The Habit Loop" is a concept presented by Charles Duhigg in his book, "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business."
He sheds light on the subconscious factors (cues and rewards) that are at play when you try to break or form a habit. In this episode of the Less Stress Family Podcast, my husband and I break down the loop and offer a formula to help you have more success with your own habits.
I'm curious what good habits have you successfully implemented to help you succeed as a family woman and business woman? What had habits are slowing you down? Leave your response in the COMMENTS below.
So Shawna took all of Justin's notes about how he always wins the argument . . . LOL.
Shawna had MULTIPLE difficult conversations with people due to COVID policies this week on the phone and even in email. NOT FUN.
The current reality is that life is STRESSFUL due to COVID, economic crisis and racial and political tensions. Add in a hard conversation and you might be ready to scream.
In this episode of the Less Stress Family Podcast, we discuss an article based on an interview with an FBI Hostage Negotiator. His tips really helped Shawna get thru those difficult talks in the business world this week. We are positive they will help you, if you implement them with your customers, business partners and family, too! Blessings.
Being Curious. Staying Curious.
Curiosity is a word/idea that I keep hearing about so I found this article by Catherine Pearson about how being curious will actually lead you to great success.
We discuss this article and how to adopt a curious life.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/curiosity_n_5736402
Setting goals is part of our culture, but maybe we need to think beyond goals.
Today, we look at an article from James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits.
Clear says that we need goals, but our main efforts should be building systems (habits, routines, and structures) in our daily lives.
Hitting a bunch of goals can actually cause us to be more and more stress out if these goals are not tied to the rest of our life.
He says there are 4 problems with just making goals:
1. Winners and losers all have the same goal. We hear the story of the winner who worked hard, but we don't hear the loser's same goal.
2. Obtaining a goal only lasts for that moment. It doesn't mean your life has changed.
3. We tie goals to our happiness. We assume if we hit this goal, then we will be happy. But we know that is not true.
4. Only focusing on a series of goals can create a yo-yo effect of progress because the goals may or may not be tied to your daily lifestyle.
So, start with a goal, but then put your time and energy towards routines and habits around that goal so that you build a lifestyle that guarantees success of that goal and beyond.
https://jamesclear.com/goals-systems
How do you see freedom in 2020? This weekend, my friend Brad, asked me about my views of freedom today. It was a simple question that really got me (Justin) thinking a lot.
Freedom is not free. We have to steward and exercise our freedoms. If we don't exercise them, then they disappear - like any muscle.
Walking in true freedom can become stressful because freedom comes at a high cost. We have to make some sacrifices and go through some pain to walk in freedom.
Today, we use Zig Ziglar's Wheel of Life to evaluate our freedom path. We cannot control others, but we can develop baby steps to grow and steward our spiritual, health, family, social, mental, financial and career freedoms.
This is a good episode to get you thinking about what you need to steward better.
Today we look at the Enneagram Thinkers - 5, 6, 7.
The Enneagram has been a tremendous tool to reduce our stress in family relationships. We have learned a lot about our blind spots and our family's strengths and weaknesses.
Start here with an enneagram test:
https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test
Next, the enneagram Institute has a good quick overview:
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions
If you want to dive deep into the Enneagram, I love Beatrice Chestnut's book:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1938314549/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1938314549&linkCode=as2&tag=lsfp-20&linkId=21afe0fb0d953bd42caca18ddf84584b
Today we lay out the heart/feeling intelligence types = 2, 3, 4
The Enneagram has been a tremendous tool to reduce our stress in family relationships. We have learned a lot about our blind spots and our family's strengths and weaknesses.
Start here with an enneagram test:
https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test
Next, the enneagram Institute has a good quick overview:
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions
If you want to dive deep into the Enneagram, I love Beatrice Chestnut's book:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1938314549/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1938314549&linkCode=as2&tag=lsfp-20&linkId=21afe0fb0d953bd42caca18ddf84584b
Today we lay out the body/doing intelligence types = 9, 8, 1.
The Enneagram has been a tremendous tool to reduce our stress in family relationships. We have learned a lot about our blind spots and our family's strengths and weaknesses.
Start here with an enneagram test:
https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test
Next, the enneagram Institute has a good quick overview:
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions
If you want to dive deep into the Enneagram, I love Beatrice Chestnut's book:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1938314549/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1938314549&linkCode=as2&tag=lsfp-20&linkId=21afe0fb0d953bd42caca18ddf84584b
We all have blindspots in our character and personality. Just like in a vehicle, if you drive without paying attention to your blindspots, then you will run over stuff.
We share a story about how the enneagram helped us understand our 14 year old son.
The enneagram is sort of a personality test, but it assumes that the personality we have is a coping mechanism, a false self, that we have developed to deal with the world around us. We share the structure of the enneagram with the 3 centers of intelligence. We talk about the growth process involved with learning about your number.
The Enneagram is opened sourced - meaning that no one person owns it.
We really like this test because of the pie chart result it gives.
https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test
Here is a basic overview:
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions
Everyone struggles with family devotions. Why?
We talk about a couple of the issues:
1st - we have this false belief that information = transformation. With all the info available in our society, people should becoming smarter and smarter. But this just isn't the case. Gaining lots of information does not guarantee transformation. Talking and learning lots of Bible facts doesn't mean your life has changed for the better.
2nd - For the past decades, churches have relied on lots of programs (from Sunday School, to VBS, etc.). Run people through all the programs and hope that they are good Christians on the other side of it all.
Parents are responsible for their kids spiritual growth. So we talk about how we keep our family devotions very simple, and the 4 very simple questions we use.
This episode comes from our stress of trying and doing all the things in life, but still feeling so disconnected from people that we love.
The solution comes by asking your spouse and kids - what are the 3 most important things I can do for you on a regular basis.
Even if you can only do one of these a day, you will start to have a deeper connection with those you love.
Our kids seem to have hit a new stress level during this re-opening Covid summer. Things are open but not "normal". We as parents have been trying to work through this stress processing with our kids.
We came across this article and spend our time talking about how good leadership always bring you back to the basics. And if you are a leader, you will get so tired of repeating these type questions. But asking questions and really listening are the keys to the best leaders.
https://www.lollydaskal.com/leadership/important-questions-to-ask-your-team-in-a-time-of-crisis/
We use metrics to measure everything. Whether it is the fuel gauge in a vehicle or metrics on a website.
Today we talk about the metric of creating quality relationships with the people we love. We are entering a time of "social poverty" that existed prior to COVID but has been intensified even more during isolation.
We have to prioritize and that means scheduling time for meaningful connections with each other. We dive into some practical ways of doing this.
This episode was inspired by this article:
https://qz.com/1570179/how-to-make-friends-build-a-community-and-create-the-life-you-want/
No child ever picks up a coloring book and then colors a person in the book "black" or "white" Even a child sees the shades of color that each person carries.
In this episode, we share about our separate experiences in Ethiopia and Kenya when we were both corrected for not understanding that "white" and "black" are not good terms to describe all the many colors of people.
Our society is stressed out for many reasons. One reason seems to only be speaking binary code about everything. It must be this or that. It must be us vs. them for everything.
We talk about how our 2nd Constitution (the one we use now), and that African Americans (we talk about the problem with that phrase too in this episode) were only 60% of a person compared to "whites". But we also talk that women didn't have many rights either.
But the system of laws has evolved and changed for the better. Will we be able to see the changes needed today?
We need to be aware of racism as both systemic and systematic. We need to check our own hearts. There has never been a perfect side to anything, but we must start walking in a greater love and a greater understanding.
When I read that Wim Hof was able to share his amazing feats of health to a small group of volunteers in just a week, I was interested in learning more. The Ice Man has spread his healthy lifestyle design to millions all around the world. Wim Hof took the tragedy of his wife's suicide to discover how to use breathing and the cold as his primary tools to health.
I love the Wim Hof Method and how it has improved my own health. In just a few minutes, I can feel stress leaving my body. In this episode, we go over some of the basic points of the method. His website is an excellent resource. Please follow all the guidelines that Wim Hof suggests.
The Wim Hof Breathing that I use the most: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybOi4hjZFQ
www.wimhof.com
The best way to operate in the "zone" is to have a great team around you. Each person can do what he/she is good at and the task gets done.
When people in your home (or office) are not working as a team, then you will feel lots of stress.
People can develop a "martyr" mindset as life without teamwork can unravel. Also, when a team mindset is not cultivated, the members become stagnant.
We share about why you need to consider: What, When, Who, and Where when considering your team.
https://uniqueability.com/the-book/
This is a book review of Unique Ability 2.0 from a concept that Dan Sullivan developed. In a nutshell, each person is a Michael Jordan at something, but schooling, institutions, and careers do not necessarily show you how to find your Unique Ability. This leads you to a life of stress and angst.
We briefly go over what your Unique Ability looks like in your life.
We discuss the 2 paths to help you discover your Unique Ability.
This book is awesome and we highly recommend that you purchase it and work your way through it.
You cannot be good at everything all the time. We realized that we have done so many strategic tasks during the Covid shutdown, but we have been so focused on our tasks that our diets have become much worse. We cant do it all, but we can focus on 1 thing for 1 month.
We have so much more stress when we only see the perfection side of social media. The superman/woman complex is real in our heads but not in real life. You are not going to be a superhero in every area. Stop trying.
Stop trying to manage time. Instead, ask yourself. What is your intention and priority? Pick 1 thing and focus on it for the next 30 days: improve relationships in your household, prioritize a business task, even focus on something you really enjoy. Pick something and go after it for 1 month. Of course, you cannot abandon everything else, but if you make this 1 thing a priority, you will see great shifts and less stress in that area of life.
Let's be honest. No one saw 2020 creating so much stress for all of us. Current events are impacting us in so many new ways that we have not felt before. We need to understand that a lot has happened in 2020 and it is okay to feel emotionally wiped out. Our generation has not see anything like this before and we need to continue to work through it together; in face to face dialogues.
Today we talk about what is going on in the world around us. We talk about how we need to have core beliefs that root our family.
We frame our family's new transition to building on rock vs building on sand - the teachings of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount.
We (mostly Shawna) have struggled with our kids becoming a bit bored through this Covid crisis. But do not stay stressed and do not blame yourself as a bad parent.
There are several benefits from boredom: improve mental health, increase creativity, increases novelty, creates new goals, improves self control.
“ A certain power of enduring boredom is therefore essential to a happy life, and is one of the things that ought to be taught to the young.” Bertrand Russell
Well, with the Covid lingering, protests, and being inside too much, it is time to reinvent your local vacation options.
All of us are having higher levels of stress from what just coping with this new normal of life.
We are looking at taking multiple micro vacations. People are camping out or finding major discounts for a week hotel rate.
We are shelving out plans for a bigger, more traditional “vacation”. We are scouting out local trails and places to explore that are nearer our home.
Part 3.
Well, this is not a typical podcast for us and we struggled to share these concepts. But if we are indeed in the midst of a 4th Turning, then we felt obligated to let you know. We hope we are wrong and this model doesn't work out. However, the trends seem to be aligning and building. If we know something is coming, we can mitigate the stresses of life better.
This is part 3 of a very important 3 part series about generational cycles and the changing times that lie ahead of us. We are all part of 80(ish) year cycles of history when major shifts occur. When these new 80 year cycles begin, the old way of life cannot imagine the new way of life.
Today we talk about some practical steps about what to do to get better ready for the big shift that may lie ahead:
Millenials will dictate this next season that will be equally creative and destructive. The emphasis will be upon social networking and community. A spiritual awakening will lie on the other side of this 4th turning.
Prepare your spiritual house. Walk with the LORD at a deeper level. Seek to strengthen your relationships and alliances. Become healthier. Learn new skills.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theory
Part 2.
Well, this is not a typical podcast for us and we struggled to share these concepts. But if we are indeed in the midst of a 4th Turning, then we felt obligated to let you know. We hope we are wrong and this model doesn't work out. However, the trends seem to be aligning and building. If we know something is coming, we can mitigate the stresses of life better.
This is part 2 of a very important 3 part series about generational cycles and the changing times that lie ahead of us. We are all part of 80(ish) year cycles of history when major shifts occur. When these new 80 year cycles begin, the old way of life cannot imagine the new way of life. We talk about how the Reformation, discovering the “New World”, the American Revolution, the Civil War, and WW2 all occurred at the end of the 80 year cycles.
According to Strauss and Howe, we are now in the 4th Turning. There are 5 stages in this "winter" season of the 80 year generation cycle.
Stage 1 - A spark will highlight the move away from institutions.
Stage 2 - Disruption and break down of the institutions
Stage 3 - Collapse of Normal Markets - social contracts are void (economic, pensions, ?)
Stage 4 - climax of the turning - total war
Stage 5 - new beginning (new declaration of independence or reformation or end to slavery - something so new that we cannot imagine it right now)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theory
Well, this is not a typical podcast for us and we struggled to share these concepts. But if we are indeed in the midst of a 4th Turning, then we felt obligated to let you know. We hope we are wrong and this model doesn't work out. However, the trends seem to be aligning and building. If we know something is coming, we can mitigate the stresses of life better.
This is part 1 of a very important 3 part series where we discuss the generational cycles of Strauss and Howe who foretold difficult times in the 2020s. In today's podcast, we talk about the Silent generation, the Baby Boomers, Gen X and the Millenials and how we are now at the end of the 80 (ish) year cycle when major social changes occur. Things will never be the same after the 4 Turning and the new 80 year cycle begins.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theory
It's good to have times of reflection and self assessment. The COVID-19 Shelter In Place directives have given many, many people extra time to do just this.
We talked in Episode 20 about the Wheel of Life as a tool you can use to examine the different aspects of your life (financial, health, marriage, etc.). Today we discuss a tool that Shawna found online by Michael Hyatt, the Life Score Assessment, that you can do to quantify your self-assessment and give you some good descriptions of what you might be currently experiencing.
More important than the tools, tho, is the practice of reflecting on your life and finding which area(s) you want to improve in. The world is experiencing a giant RESET button as the global population is looking at re-engaging with each other. Are you going to be exactly the same after this experience? Would you even want to be? We are all getting a fresh start - bigger than any New Year celebration the world has known.
Where in your life do YOU want to be better? What are you going to do about it?
Holly Pickerel joins us as our first guest on this episode. If you'd like to talk with her more after hearing this intervciew, or see more on her picky eater turned veggie lover journey, you can find her on social media as @HollyPickerel or shoot her a text at 270-670-9185.
My apologies - I dropped yesterday's audio file into today's episode, but it has now been corrected.This is one of our last pre-corona virus recordings.
There are so many moving parts in maintaining a home, and very few people actually see how it is done as children any more. Then "POOF" they are an adult with responsibilities including managing laundry, dishes, general upkeep, meals, and so much more!
The ONLY way to manage all the chaos is to create a system. In today's episode, Justin and Shawna discuss the book, "Large Family Logistics" and why the systems described by the author are needed by families of every size, and arguably, even by single people. The idea for creating these systems can even be applied to the workplace.
The key to these structures or systems is linking TIME with TASKS. For example, certain times of the day are set aside for certain tasks. Certain days of the week are designated for certain "themes" of tasks.
This book, tho written originally for stay at home moms, is beneficial to anyone seeking more peace, and a less chaotic home.
Get your own copy (new or used) of Large Family Logistics: The Art & Science of Managing the Large Family here: https://amzn.to/33ZwtwR - and help support our podcast at the same time!
We're providing you a recipe for disaster on Sunday mornings. Follow these steps to insure that your heart is not ready for worship, and your family is all stressed out and upset by the time you walk in the church doors.
For a terrible worship experience on Sunday morning, make sure you:
- Don't pay attention to your own heart and spirit all week long.
- Don't get anything ready the night before.
- Don't have a breakfast plan.
- Don't get enough sleep - or have your kids get enough sleep.
- Show up with a consumer mindset at church - asking, "What am I going to get out of this?"
Justin and Shawna speak from experience on these points. And trust, us, it's not a recipe you want to cook up very often! ;)
Recorded just prior to the Corona Virus shutdowns, this episode looks at what to do when are ready to kill someone in your family. We all feel it. But what to do about it? The answer is to draw them close to you and nurture them and yourself.
We do another Facebook Live conversation about leading your kids during this time of social distancing.
Bonus content about some things to do while in quarantine.
Also, went Facebook live with this one.
We are huge book lovers, and today's podcast is our very first book review. Actually, it's more of us sharing a few nuggets from the book for you to apply to your life now.
The book is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.
This book will help people decrease their stress in 2 main ways: First, living in a cluttered environment causes stress. Second, not being in touch with what you like and dislike causes stress.
We read this book about 7 years ago. We've actually done the pile up all the clothes to purge step, as well as doing it with our books. It's very freeing to know you can get rid of things without dishonoring the person they remind you of.
We are planning on doing another round of "Tidying" this spring, involving the whole family.
If you haven't gotten a copy of it yet, you can pick up a new or used, electronic or even audio version - AND support our podcast without any extra cost to you - by using this link:
https://amzn.to/2Qlj5xs
Today's podcast is being mature enough to admit when you are wrong - especially to your kids. We call it forgiveness or "turning your ship around".
The problem and stress comes when we don't ask for forgiveness because we have to justify ourselves continually. It also causes stress when your children have not learned to ask for forgiveness because they have never seen you demonstrate it.
The solution is that asking for forgiveness needs to become part of your family and work team culture.Everyone needs to understand that forgiveness means a change of heart and thinking and not just words.
Today's topic is how to start thinking about the health of your body, mind, spirit.
Americans seem to separate out too many parts of themselves.
We become stressed when we compartmentalize success. We do great things in our career, but act terrible at home, etc.
The solution is to look at the wheel of life and rank yourself from 1 to 10. Don't beat yourself but make a plan to grow yourself.
"Rising tide raises all ships." = When you improve 1 area of your life, all the areas are likely to improve.
Today's topic is how to homeschool at night.
Shawna tells the story about her hashtag mishap.
The problem and stress is that parents might want to homeschool, but they have to work during the day. If you try to work from home and teach homeschool during the day, then you will end up in major stress.
The solution is to block schedule your teaching time at night after dinner. We review a possible schedule for how it has worked for us.
We cover some practical examples of group learning and online options.
If you are new to homeschool, make sure you check with your state laws about homeschool requirements.
Jerk Dad is when dad is operating at his low self.
Justin tells the story about bedtime routines gone wrong.
The problem is that men don't process the whole self very well. We aren't usually very self aware so communication, emotions, feelings, etc. won't be articulated or dealt with properly at times. Thus, dad is super stressed.
The solution is that dad needs to self-care and take account of his mind, body and emotions.
Today's topic is Momster Mom. When you parent out of your low self.
Shawna shares the story about how headache + taxes + a broken homeschool system led her to becoming Momster.
The Problem is when mom does not take an adult timeout and then melts down. She is not fun to be with.
The Solution is to know yourself and to self care (mind, body, spirit). Shawna talks about music, exercise, journals, prayer, worship, sleeping well.
Momster does not mean that you are failure. Instead, it is a time to grow as a person. Sincerely apologize to your family and change your ways.
Today's story is about when Shawna's mom refused to wake her up in the morning because of the way Shawna acted. Fast forward to today and Shawna is very energized and excited to speak to groups at 7AM. What changed? Shawna realized that she has a high self that she can step and walk into.
Problem and Stress - People have 2 versions of their true authentic self - a high self and a low self. These are not good/bad types of you. But more like motivated and proactive self vs depressed and reactive self. You have the power to operate in the higher self, but it is your choice.
Solution and Examples: Focus on what you can control and move towards the things that lead you to "flow" or "put you in the zone". You have to prime the pump to get yourself going. Maybe use pictures, music, walks in nature, cards from loved ones, etc. to get you focused on your purpose in life.
Only make decisions when you are in your high self. Be aware of when you are in your low self.
We tell our story about our arranged marriage. We talk about the benefits of allowing people you trust to speak into your life.
Justin wanted to be single and never dreamed of having kids.
Shawna was looking for a husband, and figured that emailing a guy on the other side of the world was harmless.
We also talk about the difficulty of marrying a complete stranger. Our first year of marriage was rough!!
Today's topic is learning what you can control because we somehow we believe we can control a situation or other people or even ourselves. Ha!!
"On a good day, the only thing you can control is yourself." - Danny Silk
Story: The time there was a suicide attempt in our house.
Problem and Stress: We quickly zoom in and focus on the things we cannot control. We feel stuck and tons of yucky, yucky emotions will wash over you.
Trying to control things you cannot control guarantees you stress and misery.
Solution and Examples: It takes time to develop this muscle, but you have to zoom out to a place where you realize that you cannot control the thing you are focused on. You must begin to ask yourself, "What can I control here?".
People who sit and talk about the weather, politics, or their family members are spending their time on things they cannot control.
We go through our real life processing about moving to a bigger house using the things we can and cannot control.
Serenity Prayer
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."
Today's topic is underwear runs in the snow and how to build fun into the day to day grind. Vacations are awesome for 2 weeks, but living 50 other weeks of misery is not fun. Don't do it.
Story: The family underwear runs.
Problem and Stress: We can lose the ability to have fun and play. Most of us turn to "numbing" our life with Netflix binges or video gaming. Having fun is about building relationships within your friends and family. I promise you will be a stressed out mess if you operate with numbing and no fun.
Solution and Examples:You must become intentional about doing things for fun. We talk about the question game, joke books. trivia books, and gambling for bubble gum.
The 8 Play Personalities
https://caps.umich.edu/article/your-play-personality
Today's topic is how to always have the right perspective by building your muscle to zoom in or zoom out of the situation you are in. Some call it detachment, awareness, perspective or reframing.
Story: The time the boys were deer hunting.
Problem and Stress: We all become stressed when we cannot zoom in or zoom out of a problem. Stress comes from being locked into one perspective. Think of it like a microscope in 1 hand and a telescope in the other hand. You need both to understand.
Solution and Examples: When you hit a wall or a yucky emotion, develop your muscle of zooming in and zooming out of the problem.
We discuss how this applies to corporate changes and your kids.
Today's topic is learning to pray when you are mad at God.
Story: The times that Shawna journals when she is really ticked at God. The Bible verses that tell God that He is doing a really bad job at being God.
Problem and Stress: People think they can only talk to God when they feel holy so they stop talking to God. Being pissed off is a part of the prayer cycle. Not praying will often lead you to more stress because your emotions become bottled.
Solution and Examples: God can handle all our anger and rage at Him. The world is complex and just making prayer warm and fuzzy is not okay. Like any relationship, how authentic are you going to be?
The goal of pissed off prayer is to not stay there. Journal, move towards thankfulness, and talk to God like Tevye on Fiddler on the Roof.
Today's topic is what is an extrovert. The people who gain energy from being around others.
Story: The time my wife didn't want to ever podcast because she wasn't energized with the thought of just talking alone in a room with her husband. (But her husband convinced her to picture herself in front of 1,000s of people).
Problem and Stress: If you don't understand how an extrovert needs to recharge with people, then you will be stressed and frustrated with yourself and others.
Solution and Examples: Proactively schedule social time, out loud processing time, and other tips.
Also, if you have extroverted kids, you MUST help them find a good peer group. Your extroverted kids would rather have the wrong kids to hang out with than no kids to hang with.
Today's topic is about an introvert. This is a person who recharges their energy by being alone.
Story: The times that my wife wanted to kill me because she did not understand how an introvert operated.
Problem and Stress: If you don't know how introverts operate, then you will be frustrated with yourself and other introverts.
Solution and Examples: When you understand how introverts recharge their energy, then you can become proactive about your lifestyle. I want quiet, low lights, and lots of nature to recharge because I need my senses all turned down. Introverts also tend to be slower processing thoughts and emotions.
If your child is an introvert, we talk about how and when to engage them.
Today's topic is How to Self Care.
Story- Susanna Wesley raising 19 kids.
Problem/Stress: The lie we believe is that we are selfish to care for ourselves, but this creates tons of stress.
Solution and Examples: Self Care is like the oxygen mask dropping on the airplane. Put your mask on so that you can take care of others.
Here is the bottom line = Your children will grow up to be like you. Do you want them to never care for themselves? Of course not. Baby step your way to take care of your spiritual, emotional, mental, relational, and physical self.
"To preserve health is a moral duty . . . we can no longer be useful when we are not well. " - Samuel Johnson
Today's topic is Why you need an Evening Routine
Story: In the Bible, the day starts in the evening at sunset. So you begin your day with family time and sleep.
Problem/Stress: You have very little brain power at the end of the day. You feel tired and stressed so it is difficult to know if you are doing the most important things.
Solution / Examples: Plan your evening when you can think clearly. Don't start new projects and try to conquer the world. Connect with your family and relationships. Prepare for the next day. Go to sleep in a positive place of Bible reading, prayer or thankfulness.
Some things we do at night: set alarms, pick up all common areas of the house, run dishwasher, prep coffee pot, pick out clothes, cold shower, Bible study/ prayer with the kids.
Today's topic is how to start a morning routine.
Story: We share our testimonies about a great morning routine.
Problem/ Stress: If you don't create your morning routine, you are going to react to life's problems. You will feel yucky and stressed out.
Solution/ Examples: Some elements we have in our morning routine: cold shower, breathing, yoga, exercise, journaling, Bible reading, gratitude, coffee, and looking over the day's schedule. You must
Today's topic is how to move from reactive to proactive living.
Story: the time they shoplifted.
Problem/Stress: If you spend your day reacting to everyone and everything else, you will always feel stress and worn out. You react to something when you have not trained or prepared for this. Of course, you cannot train for everything, but you must become proactive about these areas of life: health, spiritual growth, relationships, and work.
Solution/Examples: You must start by deciding what you want your day to look like. It helps to have a 90 day goal/plan for your health, spiritual growth, relationships, and work. Start small and simple.
Today's topic is how to develop a framework for using technology (screen time) for your kids.
Story: How our oldest son wanted an Xbox One so he started his own business.
Problem/Stress: You will stress out about technology use with your kids until you have a grid to evaluate the right balance.
Solution: We allow screen time for education, entertainment, and baby-sitting our kids.
Examples: Evaluate how you use technology in your home. Do screens control us? Take time away from screens as a family.
Today's Topic is Life is Hard.
Story: Shawna talks about the difficulties of life in the past few weeks. Justin talks about his Grandma Allene walking to school barefoot.
Problem: Too often, you believe that life is suppose to be easy (just look at social media). The lie is that life is hard so I must be failing. Because I am a failure, I should quit. Believing that you are a failure creates all kinds of stress in your life. It kills your dreams, relationships and lots of other good things.
Solution: Lower your stress by changing your expectations. This is not a Disney story where there is only 1 problem to solve and then happily ever after. Instead, anything good is just a blessing and kiss from Heaven.
Examples: If bad things happen in life, don't stress. This bad thing is not forever.
Today's Topic: How to cultivate a culture of thankfulness in kids.
Story: The time the radiator and dad cracked. (How dad went from being a jerk to expressing thankfulness.)
Problem: Entitlement and stress develop in our children when they are not taught how to develop a thankful heart.
Solution: We have to thinking of thankfulness like a garden. You have to keep sowing seeds of thankfulness on a continual basis to reap the benefits. Just being thankful at Thanksgiving just won't cut it.
Create daily habits of being thankful = bedtime, meals, in the car together.
Parents, you have to model thankfulness.
Expose your kids to real life suffering and difficulty (age appropriate)
Today Topic is cultivating a culture of thankfulness within adults.
Story: How traveling the world and then having a child with special needs helped us have thankful hearts.
Problem: When going through hard times, it is so easy to lose perspective on the bigger things in life. This creates huge amounts of stress because you feel trapped and have no room to maneuver.
Solution: Thankfulness allows us to zoom out and gain a better perspective. Getting a global and historical perspective can shift you to thankfulness.
Examples: Jesus Christ paid a high price that I can have citizenship in His Kingdom. Soldiers and soldier's families have paid a huge price for me to have these rights as a citizen. We need to expose ourselves to the sufferings so that we can develop a culture of thankfulness.
It took 2 years of convincing, but Shawna has finally agreed to join Justin on a podcast adventure.
Both grew up in Kentucky, met in Ethiopia via an arranged marriage,
15 years of marriage, 6 biological kids, foster parents, teachers, business owners. Ready to share our successes and failures.
Today's Topic: Introduction to Less Stress Family Podcast
Story: Shawna and her Grandmother Whartenby + Justin and his Grandfather = the little things we do matter to generations.
Problem: Dads, moms, kids, and families are experiencing very high levels or stress.
Internally, this stress makes us feel like failures and that we do doesn't really matter much.
Solution: Awareness that what you do does matter to lots of people, even when you cannot see it right now.
Examples: How you treat your spouse, speaking positive words to your kids and co-workers all matter.