Have you ever had one of those “Word of the Day” calendars or email services that gave you a new word to learn with the intent of improving your vocabulary? The idea was to expose something you weren’t aware of and then to find opportunities to put it to use.
What if we applied the same idea to our behaviors? What if everyday we were to all get together and look at one practical life application (PLA) and try to apply it through out the day?
The first thing that would happen is that the ole Red Honda Theory would creep in and you would start finding opportunities to practice your new idea in places you never saw before. Of course, just like the word of the day it will seem rather artificial at first and it might be obvious that you are purposefully force fitting your new idea, but hey that’s what practice is all about.
This idea has been rolling around in my head for a long time and today I decided to try a small little trial run of the idea. For the next five work days (M-F) I will post a new PLA that people from my past have taught me. These 5 ideas are simple things that take very little effort yet yield some pretty amazing results. I love little effort, big value investments.
Keep in mind that true learning rarely comes without practice. Think of it like the word of the day on June 1st, 1999 – propitious – great word, loved it when I learned it, but it is still not a part of my vocabulary. It’s because I never consciously practiced inserting it into conversation. The key to this week is to find the propitious opportunities to use it.
So my challenge to you is to come back to the Stranded Starfish for the next five mornings and read the PLA of the Day. Then consciously look for ways to put it into practice. Better yet, if you lead a team, introduce it to your team and have everyone try it together – kind of like Weight Watchers for PLAs.
Tomorrow we start with Story Topping 101. I look forward to hearing your stories of how it went!
Today’s Question
Have you ever tried a conscious, daily learning practice like Word of the Day?
