Quick Spoon: What would your ‘J’ do?
When you’re stuck, whose voice would help you move forward?
In this Quick Spoon, Jill Stoddard introduces the “J” exercise — a simple way to act in line with your values.
Who’s your “J”?
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Transcript
What would your 'J' Do?
Jill: [:Speaker 4: Hi there, and welcome to People Soup, quick Spoon, real conversations about work leadership and being human grounded in behavioral science. With practical ideas you can actually use. I'm Ross Macintosh and here's your quick spoon.
Jill: And so, I once had a client who came to sessions saying, you know, she had engaged in all these committed actions. She made lots of values based choices in between our, our weekly sessions.
WWJD
Jill: And when I asked her what she thought she had done that made her so successful, she said, well, every time I was at, you know, a point of possibility, I just thought WWJD.
God. Not terrible therapist [:And, she talked about how she kind of carried me on her shoulder. And just when she was at these points where she had a decision to make, she would ask, what would Jill suggest I do in this moment? And I just loved that. And so I kind of turned it into an exercise that I started doing with clients. Where they pick their J. It can be someone you know that's important to you. It can be a celebrity you feel like you know, it could even be a fictional character. But someone who embodies the qualities that are consistent with the values you want to be working toward.
Jill's J is Oprah
Jill: And so for me, my J is Oprah Winfrey. Because she is someone who has overcome every obstacle in the book and never lets these things stop her. She moves forward with courage and perseverance. and uses her power for good, at least as far as I know. You know, unfortunately I'm not pals with Oprah as much as I would love to be.
do? And it was a no brainer. [:What would Oprah say - got in touch with my values.
Jill: And then I sort of took it a step further and I thought, well, what would she say to me? Like, if Oprah were here and she knew that I was really struggling in this way, what would she say to me? And, you know, because part of my insecurity had to do with my physical appearance, she would say, Jill, you're so much more than your body.
And if you have a message to share that helps even one person, that's consistent with your professional mission. So you got to get out there and do it.
Speaker 4: And that's your quick spoon. sometimes borrowing perspective, helps us move forward. If this sparks something for you, share it with one other person or maybe share with me who your "J" is.
