Faith Meets Academia
Welcome to Faith Meets Academia!
Struggling to connect your faith with everyday life, career ambitions, or academic pursuits? Hosted by a university professor and ordained minister, Dr. Adrian Reynolds, this podcast will help you translate your faith-based values into personal growth, professional development, and academic success. Faith Meets Academia emphasizes that faith and work can forge a mutually sustaining partnership.
Each episode breaks down complex academic concepts into everyday language and connects them with timeless spiritual principles for transformational learning and development. By the end of each episode, you will be equipped with practical tools to set the tone for a purposeful, productive week.
Join the journey today!
Your host, Adrian Reynolds (Ph.D.), is an ordained minister, learning coach, and assistant professor of medical education at an R1 university. He is on a mission to merge educational innovation with biblical wisdom. Dr. Reynolds brings over two decades of teaching experience across the educational continuum: from working with underserved, high school students as a state-certified instructor of Spanish to coaching students in graduate and professional degree programs in evidence-based teaching skills and the science of learning.
Dr. Reynolds’ work is located within the rapidly growing field of applied learning sciences and is driven by both socio-cognitive and sociocultural approaches to learning and teaching. His preventive model of academic coaching has been published in journals such as Medical Teacher and Clinical Teacher. He has held over 1,000 (one-on-one) academic coaching sessions with medical students, residents, fellows, and pre-med students. Dr. Reynolds has developed numerous peer-teaching programs for medical students in addition to courses in the science of learning for residents, pre-med and high school students.
Dr. Reynolds has been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ for over 10 years both nationally and internationally. He has long been recognized to seamlessly intertwine academic concepts with biblical principles: His approach to preaching and teaching the word of God is centered around growth mindset (Philippians 4:13), transformational learning (Romans 12:2), and reflective, mindful practice (Philippians 4:8, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:97).
As a missionary ambassador, Dr. Reynolds has embarked on transformative journeys that bridge cultures and continents, bringing tangible support and hope to those in need. Most recently, in the fall of 2023, his dedication to humanitarian causes led him to Mozambique: From the bustling streets of Maputo to the serene countryside of Inharrime, through the unwavering support and sponsorship from faith-based leaders and communities, Dr. Reynolds has played a pivotal role in the allocation of humanitarian aid and educational resources, providing essential support to elevate community wellbeing.
Earlier that year, he engaged in a mission focused on cultural exchange and relationship-building in the Maputo province to better understand and address local challenges. Through these missions, Dr. Reynolds exemplifies the true essence of a missionary ambassador, integrating service, education, and faith into impactful action.
Faith Meets Academia
Episode 27 - Consistency is Key: Small Steps that Lead to Big Impact ~with Dr. Kimberly Reynolds, Part 3
Discover the secret to maintaining motivation through Dr. Kimmy's action belief process and the innovative concept of an evidence bank, which fosters a positive mindset by compiling evidence of past successes. Hear listener feedback from Cassandra, a new subscriber, who has started incorporating content from this podcast into her weekly routine.
The journey continues as we navigate through the uncertainties of entrepreneurship and academic medicine with the guiding light of faith. Dr. Kimmy shares personal anecdotes that emphasize the power of faith in overcoming challenges and the importance of daily recommitment to one's purpose. Tune in to be inspired by stories of perseverance, faith, and the transformative power of small, consistent steps toward significant impact.
Please share how you've been impacted by this three-part series, Consistency is Key: Small Steps that Lead to Big Impact. What changes have you made in your everyday life as a result of tuning in to these episodes? Can't wait to hear! Send me an email at faithmeetsacademia@gmail.com to share your story.
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DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely my own and do not reflect or represent the positions, policies, or opinions of my employer, any organization or academic institution with which I am affiliated. This podcast is a personal initiative, and is not connected to my official/ formal duties and responsibilities as a university professor.
Welcome back, welcome back. Thanks for joining me again this week. Welcome back, welcome back. Welcome back, welcome back. Oh, y'all didn't know I could sing huh. We're on episode 27 and you just found out I could sing. Love it, love it, love it.
Dr. A.:Happy Monday, happy Monday. I pray that you'll have a blessed, productive and purposeful week, whether you're in school, college, on the job, retired. I believe there's so much joy in living a purposeful life. Purposeful living is about being intentional. It's about aligning every decision, every action with your values, with your faith, your belief system, your belief system with what truly matters to you, with what makes you whole, what makes you complete. Let me say this to you before we dive into this episode. Let me let me, can I just speak to your inner being today?
Dr. A.:You were created to fulfill an assignment that was designed for you even before you were thought of. Think about that. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2.10,. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. We're talking about purposeful living here, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Let me read that again, again. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. Why, for what purpose? For good works, which God prepared. It was predestined. It was preordained which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. There is no coincidence in purposeful living. You have a calling. What is your calling? In Romans 8, 28, paul says and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. Things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. You were created for good works. What are your good works and are you walking in them? Are you working the work? When we live an intentional, purpose-driven life, we're not just surviving, stuck on rinse and repeat, doing the same old thing from one day to the next. No, no, no. When we live purpose-driven lives, we're influencing, we're thriving, we're evolving, we're excelling, we're impacting. I might have to expand on this in another episode, but I just wanted to share that with you today for your reflection and consideration what it means to live a purposeful life.
Dr. A.:I'd like to share with you a review that I received from Cassandra, one of our new subscribers, and here's what it says. Good afternoon, dr Reynolds. I want to thank you so much for sharing with me the Faith Meets Academia podcast. I was able to dedicate time to listening to episode one today. I am hooked and will be incorporating your craft and content into my weekly practices. Keep up the great work. This is exactly what I need. Thank you for doing the work so that I could have access to such transformative content. It's reviews like these that keep me going. Reviews like Cassandra's let me know that, hey, all these episodes are not in vain. People are being changed, lives are being transformed. Faith Meets Academia has had, and will continue to have, transformative impact, and so I'd like to hear from you. Please drop me a line. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Drop me a line. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and let me know how you've been impacted by this podcast.
Dr. A.:All right, so let's dive right into today's discussion. This is part three of the three-part series titled. Consistency is Key Small Steps that Lead to Big Impact. We're going to pick up right where we left off in the last episode, where Dr Kimi was explaining what she calls her action belief process. For those of you who might have missed the first two episodes, or might have missed episode two, you definitely want to go back and tune into those two episodes so that you have some context. Tune into those two episodes so that you have some context. Episodes 25 and 26 will definitely provide a foundation for what Dr Kimmy is about to explain right now.
Dr. Kimmy:So the next part of the action belief process is my evidence bank. So what I'm doing with my evidence bank? So, just like a prosecutor and a defense attorney are going to a jury and presenting evidence my brain if I need to believe something new, I have to present evidence to my brain for that belief, right? So this is about when I said we want to lead with positive emotions. This is where that comes from right. So if I want to believe that I can transform my community with my voice, I'm going to look for evidence comes from right. So if I want to believe that I can transform my community with my voice, I'm going to look for evidence of that, right? Because what that's going to do is it's going to get me into like a really solid place of belief, right? So I'm going to actually write down pieces of evidence that show me that my voice matters, that when I use my voice, people are transformed, right. So I might say I wrote a blog post and like five people read it and somebody told me that they heard my podcast and it really helped them. So I'm just going to look for evidence. What that does is it is going to present that evidence. I'm presenting evidence to my brain to help me get into that positive feeling. So maybe the feeling is committed or certain or confident. Whatever that feeling is, I want to think about the evidence that's going to help me to show up, right.
Dr. Kimmy:So, again, if you're, if you want to record a podcast every week, but every week it's like you're, you're like trudging to your desk, you're like, oh my gosh, this is so terrible. Your brain's not going to want you to keep doing something that's terrible, right. So you have to show it, like why is this incredible? Why is this important? Right, and it's not. It's not like using affirmations that you don't believe. You actually believe this because, again, you're showing your brain evidence, you're presenting evidence. So, just looking for little pieces of evidence, I'll even use other people as evidence in my evidence bank. So, if I want to start a podcast, I'm going to look to someone who has been podcasting and I'm going to use them as evidence If she can do it. I'm going to look to someone who has been podcasting, right, and I'm going to use them as evidence, like, if she can do it, I can do it too. Right, and that's not comparing from like a negative place, it's. It's, it's just looking at what someone else has done and saying, oh, that means I can do it too, like, that means it's available to me as well, right. So that's the next part of the process. And then write down what is that emotion when you think about the evidence that you have, when you think about those things like what is that feeling that you get? Cause, that's the feeling you want to bring with you as you are recording your episode, as you are writing the few pages of your book, right? So that's the next part. So you present evidence to your brain for that belief. And then the last thing is then you get into your action.
Dr. Kimmy:So a lot of times we say I want to do something and we just like jump to do it. And then next thing we know we're scrolling on Instagram and we're like how did we get? I thought I was supposed to be working on this thing. How did we get? I thought I was supposed to be working on this thing. How did I end up on Instagram?
Dr. Kimmy:Right, you didn't intentionally say what you wanted to do. You didn't get those positive emotions in your, in your body and in your brain. You're just like, okay, I'm going to start working. I mean that works over time, like now, I can do that, but in the beginning, when it was so hard for me to record an episode, I had to get into that evidence bank. I had to be thinking about my why. I had to be thinking about the goal I wanted to create.
Dr. Kimmy:And then I get into my actions, right?
Dr. Kimmy:Then I write down, okay, what are the small, bite-sized steps that I'm going to take to move forward.
Dr. Kimmy:So I am going to, you know, turn on my mic, I'm going to upload, I'm going to turn on the recording app that I use and I'm going to start talking, like something I don't know, something like that. Or I'm going to sit down, I'm going to pull out my paper and I'm going to write one paragraph, right, like, just breaking it down to into smaller pieces for your brain is going to be really helpful. And then, as you are writing down what the actions that you want to take, there's probably that negative remember that negative emotion we've been talking about. Right, it's there, right, and we know it's there because if it weren't, you would have already done the thing. So there's something that's holding you back. There's some fear or uncertainty, like find what that emotion is. So my clients and I we are always on something called feelingswheelcom, so that might be helpful for your listeners Feelingswheelcom. If you're like I don't really know what this feeling is, go to feelingswheelcom and look for the feelings.
Dr. Kimmy:It actually yeah, it's free and it helps you to just figure out, like, what am I feeling? Oh, I'm feeling uncertain. Or I'm feeling embarrassed, oh, I'm feeling insecure, like, whatever that feeling is, you want to find that feeling, because that's the feeling you have to be willing to feel. If you don't want to feel, if recording your podcast makes you feel embarrassed and you don't want to feel embarrassed, what's going to happen is you're not going to record the podcast, you're going to scroll Instagram. You're going to tell yourself, like, oh, I'm just going to check this thing over here. Next thing, you know, you're doing laundry, you're doing all those things to get out of the feeling. You need to find the feeling and be willing to feel the embarrassment, be willing to feel the fear or the insecurity, right.
Dr. Kimmy:So, again, all I do in my business and in my life is I just keep showing up and being willing to feel negative feelings. Right, like, if you run from the negative feeling, you're going to run from the action as well and you're not going to get the result Right. So, so, as I am, you know, pulling out the microphone and I'm telling myself you know I'm doing this because you know my voice matters and my voice transforms. So, like I'm tapping back into the belief, I'm thinking about my evidence, like that you got to get your brain involved in this.
Dr. Kimmy:If you just try to passively do stuff, you're going to find yourself on YouTube wondering why it's been an hour that you've been watching this YouTube video, when you were supposed to be recording. It's because you're you're avoiding a feeling. Everything that you do or that you don't do in your life or in your business, or whatever you want to create, is because of an emotion. Right, always, emotions always follow actions Always, and so if you're procrastinating or you're trying to perfect things or you're putting it off, it's all because you don't want to feel a feeling, though You're, the extent to which you can get the results you want is your willingness to feel that feeling. So like, stop trying to not feel bad is what I always tell my clients.
Dr. Kimmy:Like, every time you're trying to not feel bad.
Dr. Kimmy:I mean, you coach hard clients. My clients get results, though, because they get results. Because they get results, so like if you try to run from feeling bad you're going to not do those actions.
Dr. Kimmy:And so, yeah, like consistency again is just being willing to show up to that negative emotion. Bring it with you, but be led by that positive emotion. Be led by that like confidence, like I'm talking to my people, my voice is changing them. So that's one of the that's one of the systems that I use. Like, I coach myself every day and again, I no longer have to coach myself to record a podcast, but I do a lot of other things. I'm actually, you know, I mean, you know I'm about to leave home. It's a Sunday. I'm about to leave home, go to my, my coworking office to work on my launch. I have to coach myself because I don't want to go. I want to go to, I want to hang out with y'all and I want to be here at the house and I just want to like, go to the pool or just like. But I have to coach myself in order to do that, so that I can show up and create the results I want to create. Sorry, I know that that was a lot.
Dr. Kimmy:You go, girl. That's fine. Now we're going to, we're going to, we're going to wrap it up in the next few minutes. Thanks so much for being so generous with your time. Oh my gosh.
Dr. Kimmy:What Huh? What do you mean? I can't, I can't get over it. You talking to me like I'm a straight, like I'm not downstairs. Thanks for being generous with your time. I'm I'm just, I'm just being grateful, okay? I mean, it's okay for me to say thanks, right, amen that's all right.
Dr. Kimmy:Well, I'm glad you said amen, because this this is bringing me to the faith part of this right you know we haven't talked about. You know I'm saving the best for last right we haven't talked about the faith aspect of this and how that has allowed you to grow, to thrive, blossom, to be consistent in your entrepreneurial endeavors. So talk to me about that. What has been the role of your faith in being consistent?
Dr. Kimmy:I mean, it's everything. It's everything. First of all, I know that God gave me this business and it's up to me to steward it, and I just I. One of the one of the things that hinders us from being consistent is especially I'm a physician, right, and something that physicians like to do is we. Anytime you see a physician doing a procedure, or even even just like speaking to you in the office, just know that they have thought out all of the steps ahead of time. Like they, if I'm about to do a lumbar puncture on a baby, I'm already thinking about, like step one, two, like I'm like playing it out in my mind.
Dr. A.:Right.
Dr. Kimmy:Right. The problem is entrepreneurship is not like that, like you can't, you don't know. There's it's just lots of uncertainty. You're not exactly sure, you're doing stuff and you're hoping for the best Right. So what has helped me in terms of my faith is recognizing that God said that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. So it literally says the steps, not the whole path. Like you are going, you're only going to get. Oh, you have to take a step, you have to take a step. And then when you take the step, that's when you get the next step Right. And so clients will come to me and they'll say, dr Kimmy, I just need clarity, I just need clarity.
Dr. A.:That's a big, big word right now yeah.
Dr. Kimmy:Yeah.
Dr. A.:Buzzword.
Dr. Kimmy:Clarity is is a bad word in the doctor coach school. We don't believe in clarity is a bad word in the doctor coach school. We don't believe in clarity. It is a bad word because your desire for clarity is just you not wanting to feel a negative emotion.
Dr. A.:Wow, that could be a whole different episode right there.
Dr. Kimmy:Yeah. So like clarity is a crutch that you use when you don't want to step out and then potentially fail. So you say, but I'm just seeking clarity, no, you're not, you just don't want to feel bad, right? So whenever clients say that to me, like they even say, they'll say I'm praying to God for clarity. I'm like, well, that's unfortunate, because God is not a God of clarity. God for clarity. I'm like, well, that's unfortunate, because God is not a God of clarity. And then they'll look at me and be like what?
Dr. A.:are you talking about Dr Kimmy Like?
Dr. Kimmy:that's crazy. I'm like show me somewhere in the Bible where. Show me somewhere in the Bible where God gave clarity. And then they're thinking I'm like show me somewhere where God gave someone the entire path Step A, b, c, no, or else faith wouldn't exist right Right.
Dr. A.:Substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen.
Dr. Kimmy:Yeah. He said to Abraham like okay, go leave your father's house. Okay, where am I going, I'll tell you when you get there. Okay, he said to Moses, like go tell Pharaoh, let my people go. That's it. I mean, if Moses knew the entire wilderness thing and all that, he probably wouldn't wouldn't have done it right. So God only gives, he only gives you the first step. Like he only gives you the first step, very rarely is he like okay, this is the entire journey, the entire path. So I don't rely on clarity, I have to rely on faith. I have to understand that he began a good work in me, so he's going to complete it. Right, and.
Dr. Kimmy:I have to believe that what he's given me, when I take that step, then I'll get the next step, and then I'll get the next step. And my journey in entrepreneurship is evidence of that, because I started a podcast, like that's how it started. And now I mean I run a company right, so like, and we're growing. So if I didn't have my faith, I wouldn't have a business, because there's been so I mean, you've been with me Some of the lowest moments I've experienced have been because of business failures or like I thought something was going to turn out this way and it didn't. And so if I didn't have my faith and I didn't have God to rely on, I definitely would not have the business that I have now. So, yeah, I'm just all I do is I show up and I take a step every day and I just lean on God and hope. You know that once I complete this step, I get the next step, and I always do so. Um, yeah, he orders our steps. He orders our steps. So we have to start walking.
Dr. A.:Amen. And one final point. Um, so, you know, as we mentioned in the intro, uh, you, you were a practicing pediatric hospitalist, so you were actively involved in academic medicine. How did your faith carry you through and I mean we could go all the way back, you know just your medical school journey on into residency? If you could say a little bit about that in, like I don't know, the next three, four minutes, how did your faith, you know, allow you to weather those storms? I'm curious to hear about that.
Dr. Kimmy:Yeah, I mean, we could be here another two hours with that.
Dr. Kimmy:So I will try to summarize I mean academia, especially in medicine, is basically a series of uncertain steps like that. I mean there's a path, there's a journey. It's like I have to do pre-med and then med school and then residency, right. So there's a, there's a path, but there's so much uncertainty because you're being judged along the way by you know people who who are gonna, like you know, yes, I'm going to write your letter of recommendation or no, I'm not going to write your letter. Or you know, yes, I'll accept you into this program or no, I'm not.
Dr. Kimmy:So the Bible says we walk by faith, not by sight. So, yeah, yeah, like there's so many times where it felt like impossible, felt like it would never happen, and I've had to just keep showing up, like keep showing up, keep keep saying yes. And I again, it's very similar to what we do in in entrepreneurship as well you have to recommit and you have to read the side every day. So you have to say yes to your purpose every single day. If that's like has to do with medicine or business, like you have to show up and say yes every day and you say yes to your actions. And it's not just like this, like I'm going to stand in the mirror and say I'm saying yes, like the substance piece right.
Dr. A.:The substance of things over, that's the substance piece right.
Dr. Kimmy:The substance of things hopeful, that's the substance part yeah, yeah, like that's, that's the actual faith is the, the works, the action. So you say yes, through your actions. So so, yeah, that's that's been my medical journey magic, yes, through your actions yeah, so the the faith and works marriage.
Dr. A.:Yeah well, dr kimmy, I mean we've been together forever. I mean married for 17 years. I mean this had to have been like one of the most memorable times of our entire relationship.
Dr. Kimmy:I am wow, I am higher relationship.
Dr. A.:I said, one of the most, not the most. I am just so excited, I'm pleased. I'm happy, I'm excited that I did take this leap of faith and starting out felt very uncomfortable I'll say it again, like for the 10th time like I was nervous, almost called off the whole thing like hey, let's do this next week.
Dr. Kimmy:I'll do a solo episode this time around, and I was waiting like is this never going to start this?
Dr. A.:And I was getting into that rut of, you know, trying to, you know, make things perfect. And you know, oh, not this background, that background that I was like you know what, let's go, it is what it is and we're going to get this done. People are listening for the transparency, the vulnerability, the substance. Right, you know, not all the bells and whistles that everybody is, like, you know, all crazy about that will really get us stuck, like those things will come later on, but you have to be unstuck first in order to get there. So I'm so proud of you. I couldn't have made a better choice. I couldn't have made a better choice in choosing you.
Dr. A.:Well, you know what? I couldn't have chosen you, god, I just talked to the Lord. The older folks used to say in my church y'all, you want a good wife, pray for a good wife. And I just started praying. Since I was a kid I don't know, maybe I was about eight or something I just started praying and, hey, the Lord led me to this woman right here. And you know, I mean, I just I couldn't have made a better choice. Like, I have no regrets through all the ups and downs.
Dr. Kimmy:My gosh, you sound so corny right now.
Dr. A.:Good times and bad. All the hills and valleys. I wouldn't have had it.
Dr. Kimmy:I promise Like I wouldn't have had it. I promise like I wouldn't have had it. His podcast voice, because he would not say it like this can I, can I finish my gratitude moment?
Dr. A.:keep going, I would not have had it any other way. I mean, I'm glad the lord didn't allow me to have it any other way. Yeah, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. I guess I must have done something good in my lifetime to deserve you. So, dr Kimmy, thank you, thank you, thank you, muchísimas gracias. Te agradezco mucho. Espero que tengas buen día. You know, I've been under the weather, as you know, the past few days. I mean today I'm beginning to feel a little better. I mean well enough to do this interview, but I mean, you know, you've, you've really taken such great care of me. I mean, you're my doctor, you're my nurse, like you're my, you're, you're my, everything, like, um, yeah, I just I'm, I'm at a loss for words right now. I'm usually not a little lost for words. Are we gonna we're?
Dr. A.:gonna publish this party we're gonna publish this party. We're gonna cut this part that's I mean, it's your show okay, yeah, all right, I think I gotta use the restroom, so I really gotta go um. But thank you so much, dr kimmy. This was amazing. Keep doing, keep doing what you do. All right, catch you later. Thanks, dr kimmy and thank you.
Dr. Kimmy:I just wanted to say I am very proud of you as well, because I saw the start of the podcast and I know you were nervous about starting it. So I just also want to say I'm really proud of you. I see the hard work and the consistency and it is not easy. Trust me, I know it's not easy being consistent, especially in the beginning. So, yeah, I'm proud of you. I love you. Thank you for having me as your first guest.
Dr. A.:I'm going to go because the tears are coming.
Dr. Kimmy:Oh gosh y'all. All right, babe, Love you, Love you too. Bye.
Dr. A.:Well, friends, there you have it, the final episode in this three-part series. It was so much fun having this talk with my wife, dr Kimmy. I would do it all over again. But hey, guess what I'm interested to know for those of you who have listened to these last three episodes. I'm interested to know what idea or strategy or method did you take away from any of these last three episodes and how have you implemented them in your life? I'm really interested to hear. Send me an email faithmeetsacademia at gmailcom. Faithmeetsacademia at gmailcom. That's all for this week. Talk soon Be blessed.