Family Life

Family can be difficult sometimes, but ultimately there the best thing going. family should always be there when you need them and sometimes we just need to know the right way of dealing with them! the first thing we need to remember is that no-one is perfect-everyone makes mistakes and sometimes its just not worth holding a grudge. Family are your family no matter what you do which is kinda what makes them so great!

whether you have a good relationship with your family or not, there are a few things that are key to keeping it or making it stronger
- forgiveness, without it no one can move on and try to do better
- communication, if you don't talk about stuff hows anything going to be achieved?
- honesty, they are your family lying just makes it worse and harder to move on
- teamwork! being part of a family is being part of a team, you work together and it works a lot better
- love, its what makes everything worth it

okay so no-one is going to have all of these handed over to them on a silver platter, it takes time and effort but the final outcome is incredible! when you start bringing these factors into family life, it becomes so much easier to be with each other and deal with any issues that come up.
also, no one is going to have the 'happy family' picture perfect family all the time and that's where the forgiveness kicks in, we have to learn that our expectations of what family 'should be' aren't very realistic sometimes and remember that everyone is only human and is prone to making mistakes.

10 tips for improving family life!

1. if your feeling angry or upset, take some time to cool off so that when you confront the issue, you have a calm and collected attitude instead of hot firing
2. if you've done something wrong, fess up! there is no point lying..they're your family!
3. you got a different idea? speak up! your opinion counts, but don't be harsh with how you put it
4. conflict between family members? approach with caution and suggest going elsewhere (separately) for half an hour and coming back to discuss it a bit later?
5. why not try a 'teambuilding' activity? board games, cooking, a walk somewhere, being together is what counts
6. live away from home? send a letter home with separate bits for each member, they'll appreciate the personal touch
7. make an effort to spend time with each member individually, you can go do something or just chat but its worth the effort
8. as a family, choose an activity for everyone to do, then get each person to have a specific 'job' or 'role' during the activity chosen
9. in the morning, everyone decide on 1 rule for each member of the family that they must follow throughout all of the day -it will be a laugh and a chance to tactfully get some things done! (i.e no sarcasm, no stupid jokes, no negative comments)
10. try not to alienate who your family is, subtle changes are good-not everyone is good at handling new ideas so take it easy!

hope all goes well xx

A.R.K's (acts of random kindness)

hiya guys...

I think that a.r.k's are such a lovely idea, and if we all took part the world would be such a lovely place! Okay, so maybe world kindness is a bit adventurous but just a few of us doing it will make a big difference to the people we work/live with...so let me first explain what on earth I am talking about!
A.r.k's are little things you can do for another person without them knowing its you...for example I used to bake cakes leave them on my teachers desk with a note (a bit lame I know!) but its a great feeling to know you've helped someone else or blessed them somehow...it can be anything so use your imagination!

Ever had something lovely randomly happen to you? isn't it the best feeling? someone wise once said "happiness is a perfume you cant pour on other people without getting a few drops on yourself" this co insides beautifully with the objective of doing a.r.k's...whether its leaving a note on someones desk, or tidying up your partner's 'stuff' while they're out ,its all kindness, but the point of a.r.k's is that they are done without the person knowing who did it. You may be familiar with a.r.k's from the movie 'Evan Almighty' (if you haven't watched it, you should!)

so why should we do them? I think a.r.k's are a practical way of teaching us a lesson we should all be familiar with. generosity. whether its our time, a task, or a gift of some sorts, generosity is simply one person giving something to someone else. to be generous is to be liberal with what we give and not being stingy, so when you think up what you're a.r.k will be, try and give something 'generously' to show you've actually thought about it and your kindness will shine through! what can you give this week?

10 ideas for A.r.k's for friends/collegues/family

1. make them a cup of tea and leave it where they will be working/relaxing
2. someone mentioned something they'd love? pick up on what people are saying, they may give you some ideas
3. duties like washing up or putting the kids to bed? give them a break and do it before they get the chance
4. write a little card/note and leave it somewhere they are sure to see
5. do they have a faverourite meal? maybe you could make it for them!
6. have you promised to do something and never got round to it? late is better than never!
7. they feeling low? burn them a cd of all their favourite happy songs
8. its getting colder now...(this is for family) you could put a hot water bottle at the end of their mattress under the duvet-warm feet are so nice in winter!
9. collegue struggling? maybe you coul help them out with whatever it is their struggling with-a list of tips is always helpful
10. (friends and family) get everyone to write down 3 reasons why the person is great and leave it somewhere they will see it

Hope this helps! xx

Are you scared of the silence?

Hi everyone..bit of a random title right? when I say 'scared' I'm not saying we have a phobia or anything, its  more in the sense that we tend to avoid it if we can. we often associate silence with awkwardness or uncomfortable feelings, but silence is simply the absence of noise! okay...well think about it, wherever you are right now, reading this...how many sounds can you hear? cars going past? music? computer whirring? children/siblings/partner doing other stuff...try and remember the last time it was completely silent. when you couldn't hear anything but your own breathing. no clocks. difficult? let me explain my point.

dictionary definition of silence

silence

noun

1. absence of any sound or noise; stillness.

2. the state or fact of being silent; muteness.

3. absence or omission of mention, comment, or expressed concern

if silence is all about stillness and quiet, how come its so difficult to find?! lets look at another definition..

relaxing–verb (used without object)

6. to become less tense, rigid, or firm.

7. to become less strict or severe; grow milder.

8. to reduce or stop work, effort, application, etc., esp. for the sake of rest or recreation.

9. to release oneself from inhibition, worry, tension, etc.

this sounds pretty good right?

It says 'stop work' aka be still...

It says release from inhibition aka to stop doing something

It says to become less tense/rigid aka to be calm

get the idea?

I believe that if we all took some 'time out' in silence just reminiscing and just spending a bit of time with yourself and your own thoughts, that we would be a lot less stressed out and become more relaxed.
I don't know about you, but my 'time out' is sitting in my room, on my bed with some music on or watching a movie or facebooking. not so quiet eh? well, with all the conveniences we are so blessed with, silence just isn't the norm anymore, we fill up our days with noise, busying ourselves with all the things we 'have' to do.

maybe we could all do a bit of a mission, a challenge with ourselves to overcome our 'fear of silence' take out a couple of hours this week and just sit/lie in silence for a bit, leaving yourselves with our own thoughts and just relaxing, 'letting go' of all the 'stuff' in our busy lives, and see how we feel after? I challenge you to 'fight the fear of silence'

hope all goes well! xx

10 tips to becoming less 'afraid' of silence and more relaxed

1. find somewhere you can 'escape' to and go there when you feel overwhelmed
2. write a blog/diary
3. when your feeling particularly stressed, don't do more stuff to try and work it our, write a list of all the things you have to do and work it through one by one
4. if you drive/walk to your work, turn off your music or the radio and just drive/walk in the quiet
5. learn a slow breathing exercise and go through it at least twice a day-it will calm you and help you to think straight as it will increase the level of oxygen to your brain
6. do some shoulder rolls (rolling them round in circular motions up to a hunching motion and then all the way round till normal position) this will loosen you up and stop you being so tense
7. open some windows and enjoy the fresh air!
8. in your break, go for a walk on your own or with a friend and just enjoy the quiet
9. get enough sleep! lack of sleep is a major cause of stress
10. drink plenty, dehydration will leave you feeling tired and unfocused