The Write Your Beliefs exercise, much like the 2 previous exercises (3 Raisins and Inner Monologue), is an exercise in learning how to step outside of yourself and become an observer to your own being. Whereas the 3 raisins exercise and inner monologue focused more on being a passive observer and just noticing what your mind is experiencing, the Write […]
The 3rd exercise of Leadership Step By Step is to record your inner monologue a few times a day for a week. Most days I recorded it at least twice, but I also managed to get to it 3 times a day from time to time. Since it’s not my first time doing this, I knew it was coming, and […]
The next exercise of Leadership Step By Step was to eat 3 raisins. This seemed simple enough, but there were a few conditions that made it a deeper exercise than it seems. The exercise required that you turned off your phone, and then fully engage all of your senses to focus on the raisin and eat it as if you’ve […]
Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time learning about connecting with my own emotions, being more assertive, and how to be a better leader, particularly when it comes to sustainability and with my family and friends. Assertiveness and and emotional connection feel like something I could teach myself, but I find leadership to be a more elusive skill to […]
Buffy Cushman-Patz is the founder and executive director of SEEQS (School for Examining Essential Questions of Sustainability) Charter School, where students are learning to become stewards of planet Earth and healthy, effective citizens of the world. On top of standard core learning in math, science, social studies, English, and the arts, students combine concepts with project-based experiences that allow students […]
When hosting the This Sustainable Life: Solve For Nature podcast, I’m frequently helping others try to find personal challenges in sustainability. The goal is always to find a challenge that aligns with my guest’s values. This means focusing on my guest’s experiences in nature and what they love to feel in those environments, and then help guide them towards a […]
The Leadership Step-By-Step chapter 3 is titled “Inner Monologue” and challenged me to write my entire inner monologue a few times a day. Basically, just write every thought that comes into your head as they come into your head. At first, it was really hard to do. Thinking about your own thinking immediately tends to make the thoughts stop, but […]
Leadership Step By Step, Unit 1, Chapter 2: Perception, Focus, and Attention (Essay #2) For Unit 1, Chapter 2: Perception, Focus, and Attention in Josh’s book, we turn our focus inward to ourselves. To begin, Josh recommended trying an exercises called the Three Raisins Exercise. In this exercise designed to help practice mindfulness and becoming self-aware, you basically go through […]
Leadership Step By Step, Unit 1: Understanding Yourself – The Personal Essay (Essay #1) Recently, I’ve started reading Joshua Spodek’s Leadership Step By Step, a book that teaches, as the title suggests, a step by step methodology for becoming a better leader in whatever area you choose. Each chapter ends with an exercise that he recommends you do to advance […]
As regular readers might know, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to have more and better climate change conversations, and as I thought more and more about how to do that, the sage words of Josh Spodek, host of the This Sustainable Life podcast came back to me: Stop thinking about how you’re going to do it, and just […]