SHOP LESS – EXPERIENCE MORE
THIS is particularly relevant now as we’ve not been able to shop the way we used to.
Busy parents are often tempted to buy a gift rather than share an experience, because the experience takes time. This has been turned on its head during the pandemic and many of us have been surprised to learn that time spent is what really matters to our children.
When it comes to family relationships and happiness, psychological research suggests experiences make us happier than possessions.
Take a minute to plan a shared family experience – it might just be movie night and a pizza.
Remember: we are the sum of our experiences, not our possessions.
3
WHAT’S IN YOUR ‘BAG OF C**P’?
YOUR brain contains about
100 billion neurons, resulting in 1,000 trillion connections.
We use those connections to make up stories about our life.
All the negative stuff we come up with is loaded into our mental ‘bag of c**p’ and we lug it around and allow it to pollute our relationships.
This shows up in all our relationships, but when we’ve been locked down with family for months it might be more visible than normal.
Take a few minutes to consider what’s in your bag. Think about the last decision you made – what influenced your final choice?
Was it negative vibes from your bag? What about emptying something from the bag and making better choices?
4
LEARN HOW TO SAY SORRY
IF EVER there was an environment where ‘sorry’ was needed, it’s the family.
Yet, this is often the place where it’s said the least. This is a mistake.
Take a few minutes to consider a situation at home where you think you should probably apologise. Why haven’t you?
Parents can say sorry to their children and certainly most parents would be thrilled to hear a heartfelt sorry from their child.
Siblings can and should apologise when they recognise their actions have hurt the other, or when they know they are in the wrong.
We need to treat each other the way we want to be treated ourselves.
A genuine apology can wipe the slate clean and allow us to have an open discussion and heal any lingering upset.