Why now?
Wow! Positively Dad is finally here. I’m so excited it’s finally launched and thankful that you’ve decided to check it out. Positively Dad has been on my mind since early 2012, just before Naomi was born, and I never got around to it. It was just one of those “someday” things. Well… someday is today and I have my wife to thank for it.
Terri started a book club last June with some of her girlfriends and they’ve been reading a different personal development book each month. One of those was Finish by Jon Acuff. That one sounded interesting to me as I often start things and never finish. Jon talks a lot about that in the book. He says so many books talk about starting, except most people don’t have a problem starting something… the biggest problem is finishing. That is me. I’ve started so many things… it’s the finishing that gets in the way. To be honest, I haven’t actually finished Finish. 🙂
My takeaway from his book (well, the pages I’ve read) is start and then keep going. Nothing is perfect. So things will work, some won’t. He said people don’t have an issue starting. The issue is keep going after things are no longer perfect. I call it a snacksident. You know… like when you eat an entire family size bag of chips after you’ve spent 5 straight days working out. Then you skip the next day of the work out and the next day and the next day and… you get the idea. One mistake becomes a habit and your new goal is over.
That happens to me often. Once things get busy and bail on my new goal or project and it’s over. This time is different. I’m all in. Is it possible that I’ll miss a blog post or podcast one week, sure. Will I let that stop me… no. Why? Because of these two ladies.
They are counting on me and I have a responsibility to them. I have a responsibility to grow has a husband and a father. I can only do that if I hang out with people who stretch me, get me to think, challenge me and encourage me. That’s what Positively Dad is about. It’s about stretching me, getting me to think, challenging me and encouraging me. A mentor of mine was leading a coaching call with a group of her team and she was really challenging us on a goal and she said, “Sometimes I’m having a conversation with myself and you get to listen in.” That’s what’s happening here… I’m having a conversation with me and you get to listen.
I’ll bring guests on this podcast who will require all of us to think. We will be challenged. We will even disagree. Here’s what I ask… stay out of judgment and into curiosity. Be willing to accept a different perspective. That same mentor often says, “you can’t get to better until you get to different.” Let the journey begin.
About the author, James
Thank you for joining me for the Positively Dad journey! My name is James Shaw and I'm a husband and father. I live in the Tampa Bay area with my wife, Terri and our young daughter, Naomi. The goal with Positively Dad for us to think, learn and grow. It's easy to get caught up in the day to day and miss opportunities to become amazing fathers. I trust that the conversations we have on Positively Dad will help you see that fatherhood is truly a journey and that we are better together than figuring it all out on our own.
I am a mom (and grandma) but I still learn so much when listening to these experts talk about the problems facing fathers in this generation.