The Weekly Rhythm #8: I HATE this about family get-togethers.

Welcome to the Weekly Rhythm!

Last week I closed with mentioning I’m trying to establish a new rhythm in my own family. What would motivate a new rhythm?

My family does as much together as possible. We involve and invite my parents and my wife’s parents to everything and I’m grateful to say that they are friends with each other. It’s a rather amazing thing that my children have all four of their grandparents. This isn’t the case with everyone so I want to steward this gift as well as I can.

Think about the conversations you’ve had with family. One of the ways I measure relationships is how much you know about someone else and are known by them. With time spent together it can be easy to run out of conversation topics quick. This leaves you talking about things in a way that is surface level without strengthening the relationships. Honestly we are all much more than this because we are all much deeper than the surface. These are the conditions of the road, current events, what I saw on Twitter, movies we watched, or things we bought. I don’t mind starting there but I hate staying at that surface level.

Who are we? What is our story? Each family member has a story to tell and I want to teach our kids to be others focused. So here’s the question:

Will you tell me a story about your life?

This question is infinitely variable and adaptable. With practice, your family will be able to pick up on how to use this powerful question to get to know each other in ways that you never thought possible. Here are a few of the questions that kicked it off:

• Will you tell me a story about when you got in trouble?

• Tell me about a time you went camping?

• Tell me about a time you took our grandmother camping?

• Have you ever been drunk?

There is so much to learn about each other and none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. We can spend our time together well by deepening out relationships with storytelling. It will be much more fruitful than “How was your day?”

If this rhythm establishes, then my hope is that we would become a family of storytellers. By doing this, we can make our corner of the world an infectiously better place.

For you to think about this week:

1. What is the best setting for you to practice being a storyteller?

2. How can you frame the “Tell me a story” question in normal day to day interactions with your family?

For you to act on this week:

1. Ask someone to tell you a story about their life.

2. BONUS: If you’re able to put this into practice, lead another family member or friend or neighbor or co-worker in the practice of storytelling.

You’ll become more curious and a better listener as others trust you with the story of their lives. Do not take their trust lightly, but treasure what they give you.

If you come up with a particularly great question, reply to this e-mail and I’ll feature you in a future edition of The Weekly Rhythm! There may even be a place for guest authors as this newsletter grows.

If you’d like to read the first thread I wrote about storytelling, you can get in on the Twitter action.

That’s it for this week!

I’m planning a thread this week about the top board games for families. I’ll be sure to drop that thread in here next week but we’ll continue the conversation around storytelling. Talk to you soon!

~ J.P.

PS: You’ll get to know me more as this newsletter continues. Knowing and being known is a big thing for me. Introduce yourself by replying to this e-mail (it’ll go right to me). Let me know what has and has not worked for you when it comes to rhythms.

Book Update:

I’ve started editing the first chapter of the book and added chapter markers for 3 additional chapters. This book is my most important project and I’ve allowed some other pursuits to crowd it out. A couple Twitter friends over at The Dynasty Foundry have asked me about my plans to follow through on what’s important to me. I’m glad for that accountability and I’d be even more glad for you to ask me.

Welcome to the Weekly Rhythm!

Last week I closed with mentioning I’m trying to establish a new rhythm in my own family. What would motivate a new rhythm?

My family does as much together as possible. We involve and invite my parents and my wife’s parents to everything and I’m grateful to say that they are friends with each other. It’s a rather amazing thing that my children have all four of their grandparents. This isn’t the case with everyone so I want to steward this gift as well as I can.

Think about the conversations you’ve had with family. One of the ways I measure relationships is how much you know about someone else and are known by them. With time spent together it can be easy to run out of conversation topics quick. This leaves you talking about things in a way that is surface level without strengthening the relationships. Honestly we are all much more than this because we are all much deeper than the surface. These are the conditions of the road, current events, what I saw on Twitter, movies we watched, or things we bought. I don’t mind starting there but I hate staying at that surface level.

Who are we? What is our story? Each family member has a story to tell and I want to teach our kids to be others focused. So here’s the question:

Will you tell me a story about your life?

This question is infinitely variable and adaptable. With practice, your family will be able to pick up on how to use this powerful question to get to know each other in ways that you never thought possible. Here are a few of the questions that kicked it off:

• Will you tell me a story about when you got in trouble?

• Tell me about a time you went camping?

• Tell me about a time you took our grandmother camping?

• Have you ever been drunk?

There is so much to learn about each other and none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. We can spend our time together well by deepening out relationships with storytelling. It will be much more fruitful than “How was your day?”

If this rhythm establishes, then my hope is that we would become a family of storytellers. By doing this, we can make our corner of the world an infectiously better place.

For you to think about this week:

1. What is the best setting for you to practice being a storyteller?

2. How can you frame the “Tell me a story” question in normal day to day interactions with your family?

For you to act on this week:

1. Ask someone to tell you a story about their life.

2. BONUS: If you’re able to put this into practice, lead another family member or friend or neighbor or co-worker in the practice of storytelling.

You’ll become more curious and a better listener as others trust you with the story of their lives. Do not take their trust lightly, but treasure what they give you.

If you come up with a particularly great question, reply to this e-mail and I’ll feature you in a future edition of The Weekly Rhythm! There may even be a place for guest authors as this newsletter grows.

If you’d like to read the first thread I wrote about storytelling, you can get in on the Twitter action.

That’s it for this week!

I’m planning a thread this week about the top board games for families. I’ll be sure to drop that thread in here next week but we’ll continue the conversation around storytelling. Talk to you soon!

~ J.P.

PS: You’ll get to know me more as this newsletter continues. Knowing and being known is a big thing for me. Introduce yourself by replying to this e-mail (it’ll go right to me). Let me know what has and has not worked for you when it comes to rhythms.

Book Update:

I’ve started editing the first chapter of the book and added chapter markers for 3 additional chapters. This book is my most important project and I’ve allowed some other pursuits to crowd it out. A couple Twitter friends over at The Dynasty Foundry have asked me about my plans to follow through on what’s important to me. I’m glad for that accountability and I’d be even more glad for you to ask me.