Imagine what this year could look like if you take the time to genuinely connect with your family and with yourself by focusing on your strengths, taking time for mindfulness and being more intentional with the time you have together? HEAD Focus on your love of learning to improve your family’s overall well being. For Your Family A new year brings about new opportunities to improve yourself and the world around you. One way to do this is to involve your entire family in home improvement projects. Have a room that needs to be painted, a bookshelf that needs to be built, perhaps an outdoor landscaping project? These are great opportunities to develop your families’ strengths of love of learning, teamwork, and creativity by researching, planning, and executing these projects together. Watch “how-to” videos together. YouTube provides a vast wealth of knowledge for these types of projects. Research paint colors by understanding the science behind how colors mix to make new colors. Discover how planting certain trees or flowers in your yard can have a positive impact on the local and global ecosystem. These fun projects can bring your family together, increase your happiness, reduce stress, and improve your overall well being. For Yourself Take the start of the new year as a fresh opportunity to finally begin that new thing you’ve been wanting to learn. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn a second language. Perhaps you want to learn an instrument or learn to draw or paint. This year set an intention to get started. Once you’ve done that, create some milestones for yourself to ensure accountability. Doing something like this for yourself develops your strengths of love of learning, bravery, and perseverance. Heart Focus on your strength of love to build your family’s emotional health. For Your Family Spending quality time with those we love is critical to our emotional health. This year be intentional about the time you spend with your family. If you have busy schedules, as most families do, set a time each day to spend just 15 minutes together. If it is unrealistic to have dinner or read together every night, be creative. Make the most out of those rides to school, practices, doctor appointments or therapy sessions. Ask powerful questions and listen expansively to their answers. Take a mindful moment together before you start your day by completing a breathing exercise. Your smartwatch or smartphone can probably help here. And always remember to end each day with a hug! Setting these intentions to spend quality time together each day increases the likelihood of actually spending time together. For Yourself Try this brief exercise to center yourself and focus on love, hope, and sense of meaning. Place your hand on your heart. While your hand is on your heart think about someone who has recently made a positive impact on your life. Can you set an intention to write that person a message of gratitude for what they have done for you? This exercise not only gives you pause to focus on your own heart but affords you the opportunity to connect or reconnect with those you love. Hands Focus on appreciating Beauty and Excellence by getting active and having fun! For Your Family Let’s play! Getting your daughter to ballet practice on time and making sure your son understands the right bus route to take to get to school certainly are important, but don’t forget to take some time for fun. Try putting together a puzzle, assembling a Lego set, or simply coloring a picture together. Kids still love slime! There are plenty of recipes, colors, and even easy to use kits you can find online. Host your own “baking” challenge. You’ll get to work with your hands, spend time together and end up with a delicious dessert or after school treat. Working on any of these projects engages your strengths of teamwork, zest, and appreciation of beauty and excellence. These moments together can be fun and special. Make the most of them. For Yourself Any of the activities for your family can also be done solo as well. You’d be surprised how relaxing coloring can be. Doing something active alone can be refreshing and fun. Set an intention to complete that yard work you’ve been putting off or plant a garden. While you’re outdoors take a moment to appreciate the beauty of your yard, the trees, and the nature all around you. Spend time journaling, actually writing down or typing out your thoughts and feelings can relieve stress and calm your mind. You can also use this as an opportunity to connect with others. We communicate so much beyond the words we say to one another. Is that an opportunity for you to be intentional and help someone (family, member, neighbor, co-worker)? Shovel a neighbor’s driveway or simply offer to open a door for a co-worker. These intentional gestures can mean a lot. Click here to download this activity and set intentions with your family today!
