Your home is your sanctuary. Once within the perimeter of your home, you should find solace, tranquility and peace. Protect the mindset of all occupants. Fortify your home from the ravages of chaos and negativity.
Stress is everywhere. Like water it finds the path of least resistance. Once it impacts an individual, it can easily leap to those around them. As research has most recently proven, stress is contagious. It is carried home from the office. It finds us on the Internet. Negative social media posts can penetrate our happiness. Stress is spread from our friends and family like the Ebola virus. The news media blasts packets of stress into our living room with every story. And bad news travels fast.
Beware: Some people carry stress without their knowledge. You can hear it in their voice. You can see it in their face. However, they are oblivious to its presence. They are not aware that stress has changed their mood and impregnated their body. Make sure this is not you.
Bringing stress into the home is preventable. Allowing it to quietly engage and penetrate the mindset of family members through conversation, social media, television, radio and other forms of information distribution can be stopped.
Here was the global and national news this morning: Trooper stops to help, is killed; ISIS blows up ancient temple; Son kills Oklahoma politician; Sex traffickers branding girls; Air show crash toil could reach 20; Teen hacked with machete; Global economy unstable.
Yikes! That was bad news. It's no wonder we are a nation that is tense, anxious and even depressed. This negativity, coupled with the strains of the economy, can easily penetrate the minds of everyone in your family. Even the little ones can be impacted, although they have no clue where Syria is located.
What do you do with this outside information? First, do not obsess over it. Be aware of the news, but do not watch it over and over. Control what you can control and Putin invading the Ukraine is not one of them. Let it go. Yes, turning off the news is an option.
What can you do to protect your family from the ravage of negatives that permeate our society?
Control your inner dialogue. Think about what you think about. Control your family communication. Be mindful of your words and actions. Controlling what you think and say from your bathroom mirror all the way to the curb in front of your house is the instant answer to simplicity, balance and excellence.
Here are a few things to consider:
1. Use the 90-Second Rule of being in the moment as you enter your home. Put your cell phone down before entering and greet each other with eye contact. Upgrade your hello. This is for every family member.
2. Play music throughout your home.
3. Place fresh cut flowers in all rooms.
4. Smile frequently.
5. Talk quietly and calmly once you're home. Place a moratorium on the "yell and tell" form of communication.
6. Get up happy and go to bed happy. This will get stress away from your family for sure. Lead your family by example with these morning and nighttime routines.
7. Look for solutions first. Think about the positive outcome instead of the myriad of challenges that you are confronting.
8. Refuse negativity. Let it go. Do not bring it home, either.
9. Gather your family around the dinner table. No phones or television. Communicate openly. Dine with the ones you love. Discuss what's right and not what's wrong.
10. Place a moratorium on rehashing the negative past.
11. Eliminate gossip and rumor from family dialogue.
12. No more family putdowns.
13. Everyone needs to avoid acting like a victim or judge. Make sure all know the examples of this behavior.
14. Make sure each family member understands their role in making the family the most positive family in the world.
15. Make sure everyone has personal, well-defined goals that the family understands, respects and supports. Have a monthly Vision Night where family members share their dreams or goals.
16. Foster open and honest dialogue between family members.
17. Ask great questions and this will spawn great answers.
18. Limit television and the Internet.
19. Require respect to be given and received for each perspective, opinion and idea.
20. Go for a family walk; play sports or music together.
21. Go to church together.
22. Allow for "alone time" for each family member
23. Include goals for the family as a whole. Collectively, plan vacations and community projects.
24. Eliminate drama by calming or diffusing the situation. Everyone needs to let off a little steam. Let it pass.
25. Zero negativity within the last 30-minutes before sleep.
Negative thoughts spawn negative stress and this can spread like a disease. Every thought in your household has a positive or negative body language reaction. Each family member easily observes these physical reactions. When someone rolls their eyes, blows their breath or crosses their arms in disgust, everyone knows what they're thinking. Each thought also has an emotional reaction that everyone in the house can feel. Finally, every family member's thoughts have intuitive vibes that are broadcast with no geographic boundary.
Your family's stress level is only as good as what each family member thinks in private and or as a unit. These individual and collective thoughts are all powerful when they are positive. They inspire. They uplift. They are contagious in an encouraging way. And together they can overcome all of the world's negativity.
Stress runs down hill. Mom and Dad, get it together! It begins with you. Immunize your family against negativity, violence and social unrest. Help manage your family's thoughts by first managing your own. Lead your family toward simplicity, balance and excellence.
There's a lot going on in the world. It's time to stress-proof your home.
Get in the Zone!
Jim Fannin
jimfannin.com