| Ignite Your Fire - 8 Week Challenge How is YOUR eight week challenge going? We are four weeks into the challenge. We are 50% there!!! If you haven't yet begun...that is okay...start today...it isn't too late! Select something that has been pestering you and go for it over the next month ... a cluttered closet, a foul mouth, a soda habit...YOU name it and YOU can conquer it in the next four weeks! For those of you well on your way...here are some reflections questions to help guide you through the next week: - Why is this goal so very important? ('WIIIFM' - remind yourself what is in it for me - in the long run!)
- What are your successes?
- What is working?
- What isn't working?
- What adjustments do you need to make?
- How are you and your buddy best supporting each other?
- What is your celebration at the end? For extra motivation start planning it today!
Use your answers to these questions and your reflection time to help propel you to the next level! You can do it!!! | | | |
| | This Week's Topic: 4 Habits of Happy Families
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
~Leo Tolstoy
A friend recently reminded me, her father on his death bed, wasn't detailing professional successes, of which there were many. Rather, he was looking around at his family - at each of his children - appreciating the moments they shared together and the joy they brought him.
As we are in the middle of the holiday season filled with family time, this week I want to focus on your family and review recent research that suggests that happy families share four common characteristics.
Give Thanks - Be Grateful
Ideas to Achieve: -
Select five things to give thanks for each day and write it in a journal or have your children write it in a visible place in your home. -
Pick one family member each month and have each family member write a letter of gratitude to this person. To celebrate, around the dinner table read the letters aloud. -
Once a week at the dinner table have each person give thanks aloud for five things that have occurred that week.
Have Satisfaction in your Choices
Barry Schwartz, professor of psychology at Swarthmore College and author of the book "The Paradox of Choice," says, "explicit lessons are the least important ones. The most important thing you can do is to model the behavior for your child."
Ideas to Achieve: -
Repeat three times, "You get what you get and you don't get upset" -
Lead by example, when we question our choices rather than stand firm in them we lead a ripple effect through our communities, workplaces, and homes. -
When you make a choice that just isn't right, focus on your lesson. Life isn't about the end point, but rather the journey. Choices define the journey.
Lose yourself in the moment - Focus on the Moments of Joy
Research indicates that happy people focus on the moments of joy in their life.
Ideas to Achieve: -
Take time to remember the good things in life - open the history books of life and share. -
Document the joy in your life through the photo albums, stories, and even the internet. -
As you drive around your town remind your children, that is where you had your first...step, piano lesson, ice cream cone, etc. These anecdotal stories help cement joyous moments.
Spread Out the Joy
Research illustrates that when you compare a group of people who spend a day doing things to please themselves vs. a group of people who help others ... the group who helps others feels happier and more joyous at the end of the day!
Ideas to Achieve: -
Put this research into action in your own home, community or office ... challenge people to give their time and resources to others...let them reap the joyous benefits. -
Remember more isn't always better ... for your children space out the giving and receiving of presents and space out their activities. Make It Happen
This week select one of the four ways above to add joy to the life of your family. | | God bless you and your family. I hope you are able to return to the basics and have a happy, healthy and joyous holiday season. | | Blessings to you,
Margaret. P.S. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretPundmann.com where they can sign up. Margaret Pundmann is a life and business coach, speaker, and author of numerous articles on living your most powerful life. Stay tuned, Margaret's first book for emerging women will be available for pre-order in the coming weeks. | Please feel free to forward the "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter to friends and colleagues, but please forward in its entirety. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise. Copyright © 2008 Margaret Pundmann. All rights reserved. www.MargaretPundmann.com. | |
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