Today I’m introducing the process of Notice, Discern, & Respond (or NDR). NDR is a supremely helpful progression for change, especially in terms of our thoughts. Once you become familiar with this simple idea, it can be an underlying way of life as you engage your own thoughts and feelings as well as your transformational journey. The beauty of NDR is that it helps you make the move away from reacting and into the more helpful mode of responding. Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, says it this way: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” I’m suggesting that NDR is one process you can engage in that space.

Hope is a deep and strong dynamic. I believe that deep down, we all have access to this gift. However, for many of us, it gets buried underneath the hard knocks of life. And yet hope gets uncovered, over time, as we make our way through our circumstances. Hope is that beautiful combination of two more life-giving dynamics: with and through. And, more importantly, it’s with and through with God. Today, on the I Can Do That Podcast, I’ll be sharing some of my personal stories of loss and how I made my way to hope THROUGH the circumstances.

Today, on the I Can Do That Podcast, we are talking about love. I realize it’s pretty audacious to think I can discuss this subject in a 10-minute podcast. Let me assure you, I am in no way covering the depths of God’s love or what it means to give and receive love. I am simply layering another part of our foundation. But I’m not going to talk about a prancing through the daffodils kind of love. I told you that we’re combining grounded optimism with practical spirituality and I meant it. This means, in part, that we try to explore as best we can (even large topics like love) and then take appropriate action based on our current understanding. Is this a perfect science? No. Is this a work in progress? Definitely yes.

I’d like to propose an idea right up front here. Can we acknowledge that 100% of the time we do not know 100% of the story? I know this may be jarring to some of us. I, personally, like to think that I always know what’s going on. I’m an excellent mind-reader and an astounding predictor of outcomes. I hope you can tell that my tongue is firmly planted in cheek. We don’t actually know 100% of any situation, do we? After we settle into that level of humility, a beautiful dynamic can emerge: curiosity. Curiosity then leads to asking good questions, broadening our view and deepening our understanding. Today, on the I Can Do That Podcast, we’re talking about curiosity. Listen now. Link in bio.

If you could see me right now you would notice that my hair is at least four different colors. I tried easing into my grey hair last year about three months into the pandemic. “This is the perfect time,” I thought. But then, as it grew out, I began to doubt the aging process and decided to color again. Well, last November I decided to go for it one more time. So about four inches from my roots down is a wonderful mix of white and black, and the rest is a couple of shades of brown. Fortunately, from the front, it works and I look like I have some nice white highlights on the edges. What does my hair color have to do with anything? Well, today, on the I Can Do That Podcast, we are talking about transition. I hope you’ll join me.

Picture this. I’m in Hawaii enjoying some wave jumping near the shoreline. It’s all going fine until a sudden, rogue wave comes in behind me and sends me into a spin. Arms and legs are now flying and my prescription sunglasses are knocked off and lost forever. A moment of play turns into a nose full of water and an unexpected scare. Do you ever feel like this in your life? You’re just out there trying to enjoy the waves of relationships and responsibilities. And all of a sudden, a big one rolls in and crashes into you. But…with water up your nose, and a little discombobulated, you gather yourself and head back out, ready to try again. Today on the I Can Do That Podcast we are talking about overwhelm and how we might come up for some air.

“I don’t have time for this!” I gritted my teeth and barked at my then 5-year-old son. I was in a hurry to get somewhere and my son had forgotten his shoes in the house. He ran to get them as I fumed. As I pulled out of the driveway, my exclamation haunted me, I don’t have time for this? I was a stay-at-home mom at the time. If I didn’t have time to care for my sons, what in the world did I have time for? That moment began a work in my heart to change my orientation to time. Today, on the I Can Do That Podcast, we’ll gain a refreshed vision of time…one that doesn’t leave us feeling pressured.

In our book, What Does Your Soul Love?, in addition to the 8 powerful questions, I offer a Process for Transformation, nine simple dynamics for change. Today I want to talk about the first three dynamics that make up the Posture of Transformation. The Posture of Transformation is about your inner stance toward change itself. It’s good to check in on this because it’s one thing to want to grow and change in general, or in a particular area of your life. It’s another to be truly open to all of what it takes to engage the change.

Welcome to the first episode of ICDT! I’m glad you’re leaning in right from the beginning! I’m looking forward to growing together! The energy that gave birth to this podcast really emerged from my own need for keeping things simple. Life can, of course, be complicated. But we can learn to nurture an unhurried heart. We can adjust our inner pace so that we become responders rather than reactors to the flurry around us. I’m so looking forward to walking with you week by week as we explore this together. So, let’s begin at the beginning, with the very title of this podcast: What does I can do that mean and how will it help?

Introducing I Can Do That! with spiritual formation coach and author, Gem Fadling. As a founding partner of Unhurried Living and with 30 years’ experience in spiritual formation, Gem helps people grow by combining grounded optimism with practical spirituality. This effective dynamic will guide you onto the path of discernment so that you can transform your desires into habits. In each episode Gem will share one practical idea, with one simple takeaway. Together, we’ll grow at the pace of transformation, and you’ll move into your day, saying to yourself, “I can do that!”