While this blog post can be designed for parents….it can be adapted to most relationships that you might experience from day to day. Being “purposeful” in our relationships can be hard work and takes commitment – but the result is rewarding. When a person is purposeful, these individuals implement strategies in their life to help with moving from the reaction stage to the preventing stage.
Some important points:
- Tell the people in your life that you love them, and tell them often.
- Relationships should have limits and boundaries, there should be a level of structure. Our society, has rules (laws) that help keep create structure and keep us safe. We feel safe when we see the police arresting those who break the “rules” such as robbery or murder. The children in our home feel “safe” with rules, especially when they are enforced, it shows the parent cares.
- Values is vital. One value to implement in most families is responsibility. Encouraging each member of the family to have responsibility in the home is important. For children this could be, taking care of one’s toys by putting them away at the end of each day. For teenagers, this could be noticing when lightbulbs are out and replacing them, or taking care of pets.
- Celebrating family members, their strengths, their uniqueness. When families focus on what the members are doing well, or when they are trying hard, this helps empower them to keep trying even when they are not doing well at something. Struggling with finding some strengths? Plan family activities, turn off the TV, computer and phones and turn to each other.
By building in purposeful into your day to day life, your relationships become stronger and more meaningful.
Best Wishes,
-Jennie
