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How to give your family a wellness makeover

Written by: Cassandra L. Gierden

Article Overview: In this day of cell phones, pagers, blackberry’s and emails you think it wouldn’t be hard to reach someone in your family but the truth is it is more challenging than ever… to reach them in a way that keeps you connected. So, how do you stay connected? How can you turn the abundance of quantity in to quality time? How can you give your family a ‘makeover’ in a meaningful way as if you just showed up to your favorite spa for a few hours of a meditative makeover?

How to give your family a wellness makeover

In order to begin giving your family this makeover it will be important to take inventory (like a shopping list) of what’s important to each of you now and what you would like more of in your lives to help determine what core values can be built upon for each individual and the family. Finding out what’s important of missing whether it’s time, communication, attention, playfulness, community will help…. Remember to keep it fun, simple and energetic.

Here’s one tool and a creative idea of a place to start as it will be important to choose activities that are interesting and stimulating for all ages and personalities.

Creative Idea #1 - Creating a Theme with Your Family

Pick something to apply to your theme to before you get started. Use this as an opening discussion with each family member– will it be for a weekend away, 3 month goal, or the whole year long. Create an exercise where as a family you all can spend some time together exploring the following questions… doing this together can help stimulate others, giving them ideas.

It is important that before choosing a goal for your life, it is essential that you are clear on what it is that you want to BE, and that you create goals that include the whole of your life. These questions will assist you in assuring that your are setting goals that truly come from your heart and not just from your head – the surefire way of creating lasting success.

1. Write a list of everything that you achieved in the last year.
Include everything, no matter how big or small, in all areas of your life. Your relationships, your work, your home life and especially things that you did for others in your life. Many times the theme that we want for our lives appears in patterns in our lives that we are unaware of.

2. What would you like to add to your life this year?
Example: spending more time with your children or friends, allowing more time for your relationship, or enhancing your skills by taking a course or reading a book, donate some money to your charity, etc.

3. Are there any issues from last year that you would like to change this year?
Some examples may be less time listening or spreading gossip, cutting down on involvement with committees, wasting time, watching less TV or living with less stress.

4. Choose a word that would best describe what it is that you would like to BE this year.
Some words that may help you could include BEING more Peaceful, Successful, Happy, Tranquil, Loving, Kind, Generous of Spirit, Adventurous, Intimacy, Abundance, Joyful, etc. As you are writing, say the word over and over to yourself. Choose a word that would best describe the theme you would like to live your life by – one word, one step at a time.

5. How can you incorporate that them into all areas of your life?
Relationships, children, work, finances, family, your health and your body. Take each section of your life and ask yourself what’s one step you can take to create your theme in that area.

Included below are some creative tips to consider as ways to make sure this activities fits with your families uniqueness.

Tip #1
In discovering the THEME or WORD ask others what they might have heard as important to their father or sister, sometimes others can help us see things for ourselves

Tip #2
Especially for children draft up some words on cardboard paper and turn them over at the end of answering the questions together. See what words they are drawn to and let their intuition guide them to their THEME word.

Tip#3
Great for young children to help them express more in pictures than just words and this is especially great for adults to tap back into the youthful artistic side.

Tip#4
Ask what each person is taking away from the moment as a ‘gem’ which can be an idea, new thought, activity, or discovery. This will not only connect them with what they are taking away as worthwhile but it will also give you a clear idea of what is important to them.

Tip#5
Make it feel like a makeover with relaxing music, favorite snacks and beverages, warm setting.

Tip#6
Find an ally in any activity to Give Your Family a Makeover whether your partner, daughter or another family.

Now look back at the objective of the Creating a Theme exercise did you achieve what you hoped? What are things that happened that you may not have expected? How can you create support to introducing these activities and outcomes into other areas of your life? Creating a Theme can be a great activity to revisit and create new themes.

Makeover activities help build a strong foundation for you, your family and also for those around us and in preparing us and our children for the future challenge that will lie ahead. The more we become empowered in ways to stay connected to what is truly important the more we’ll find positive things showing up in our life, effortlessly. There is good reason why the THEME of Family First rings true for many of us today.

Remember keep it simple and it doesn’t cost anything to give your family a makeover just some time, thoughtfulness, good intentions and love. It can cost a lot more to put it off for a rainy day.

So print these off today and sit down tonight after dinner.

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  Optimize Your Sales Force Without Spending a Dime
  5 Ways to Know that Your Website Needs a Makeover

Article Tags: core values, creative idea, enhancing your skills, exercise, family member, heart, makeover, personalities, playfulness, reading a book, relationship, relationships, setting goals, shopping list, time communication



Related Forum Posts
Re: Advice Wanted - I keep saying this but I have to say it again. I dont like partnerships. Any family money should be a know donation to you before hand. Borrowing from family is one of the worst most stressful things you can do. I would have to know more to give any real advice but be careful with partners. If you do decide to take on a partner make sure you get a good business attorney.
A makeover story - Has anyone here ever invested in a makeover to his/her business (e.g. new website design or change of decor to your bricks and mortar place)? And if so, did it prove to be a good or bad move?
Family over business - Hi mphcoach, I definitely see your point about how your business might suffer in the long-run from taking time off for personal/family issues. But I'm a firm believer that you can always make more money and get new clients, while you can never get back the time you lose with your family. Besides, it's also important to take time off to take care of yourself since there's no point in having all the clients and money in the world if you don't have the health to enjoy it. In Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays With Morrie", Morrie says "Love each other or perish...Say I was divorced, or living alone, or had no children. This disease-what I'm going through-would be so much harder. I'm not sure I could do it. Sure, people would come visit, friends, associates, but it's not the same as having someone who will not leave...This is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there's someone who is watching out for them...'spiritual security'-knowing that your family will be there watching out for your. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame...Not work" (91 & 92).
Re: A makeover story - Dear kevin, This is a very interesting post, and I think that in any type of business a better representation of it's self is always better and it could never hurt. These days people don't just want good quality, it also has to be representable and eye-catching so having a makeover for your website to help better profit a business is a wonderful idea.
What is holding women back - I think the family vs business problem is an on-going struggle for women. For those who don't have a family yet, there is that fear that you may be sacrificing one for the other. For the mothers out there, it is a balancing act. Are there any female entrepreneurs out there who have a family and feel they have a balanced life? I would love to hear your secrets!


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