improve family well being
3 strategies to try this week
Do you have ‘good’ wellbeing? What about your family?
Most of us are regularly asking ourselves these questions in many different ways, right?
However, it’s impossible to maintain good wellbeing by only focusing on mindset. Yes, attitude is very important. So is understanding our own inner needs, getting out of our own mum guilt, and making those inner, mindset changes that we need to make, to help us feel more peaceful, grateful and whole.
But, we still need to look at our wellbeing holistically: including our exterior actions within our lives, too.
We all need practical change to occur, not just in our minds.
I mean, we are so connected to our families that we can’t be fully experiencing wellbeing without involving them in the process somehow. We live under each others’ expectations, in each others’ spaces, and interact with each other in this dynamic set of relationships called ‘a family’.
But how can we increase wellbeing for our family, as well as increase it for ourselves?
As a coach, I am addressing the external environment and internal expectations which Mums live with, day to day.
This includes children, partners, the home, our workplaces, and relationships in all these areas.
This post will share 3 ways to improve family wellbeing!
Improve Family Wellbeing: #1
Firstly, a tried and true method is to ensure you and your family have a set time together, every day. A well-researched regular time frame that is proven to make a huge difference is sitting together to eat dinner, around the table.
This increases the ability to look at each other, have conversation, be more interested and involved in one another’s lives, as well as help strengthen relationships.
Many of us remember a time when we were sitting around a table as a family - and many of us don’t have that memory.
“‘Studies show that children who eat with their families are significantly less likely to have trouble with drugs and alcohol and are more likely to perform better in school.’”
It’s simple. Sitting down with our family increases our resilience; our focus, our ability to sit up straight, our manners, and also our social awareness and ability.
Why would we not want our kids to have ALL these aspects of their wellbeing, improved? It might not always happen; but it’s a good one to focus on.
Increase Family Wellbeing #2:
(This one’s always a controversial one!)
Put down your phone.
If you struggle with this, let’s set a plan for that. Challenge yourself to leave your phone alone while you eat; then after 3 days, challenge yourself to leave it alone until after everyone has left the table. (put it away on the bench)
And not just at the table… but set aside time for your child to be your main focus. I can’t even count the amount of family movies where the parent goes to work and is too distracted to spend time with his/her family… and then regrets it.
There is a reason those movies really hit home - and why the theme is so prevalent.
We have all learnt this lesson from time to time (and, we all get it wrong, I’m assuring you, from time to time)… our kids just want US.
And anything that is getting in the way needs to be removed as much as possible.
It might be hard, you might run a business (hello!), you might be doing all the things….but setting it aside for a certain time each day is something you will NEVER regret.
Before we jump into the third one, I’m inviting you to consider your own wellbeing, with my 2-minute De-stress process for mums, available here.
(for more event info, check the Services tab above - Don’t miss the virtual monthly Wellbeing Gathering!
And now…
Improve Family Wellbeing #3:
Set a contact goal.
What do this mean? I regularly do this with my clients; in this way:
We set a goal of maybe 10 minutes contact time with a child per day, or per week. (It can be specified 1:1 contact with that child, or in eye contact with a partner, or anything that will increase your relationship health, connection or wellbeing in any way!)
Then, after a week, assess how that went. Did that help you? Was there any need to change things a little? Was is enough, or can you increase it?
What does ‘contact’ mean?
Eye contact, conversation, physical contact if both are open to that; playing a board game, spending time together on a walk.
Relational contact.
In fact, this is exactly what I do with women, as well, in a way. Building a regular routine to connect with your mindset, your body, your emotions and the world; to make sure you are living your best life as much as possible.
Improving Family Wellbeing is one of the keys to building a healthy, loving, sustainable family.
Building family wellbeing is not all about one person. But, as the mother of that family you can really make a difference, and implementing some of these strategies are a great way to get started!
If you are looking for help organising your mindset and your own habits (so they see you working on the important things) then I’d love to chat. Message me via the Contact tab and let’s start the conversation!
Miranda
