Close Your Eyes & Visualize

Jul 252011
 

umpire behind the plate

We all know it’s important to teach our kids basic skills and the ones that we choose to start with vary from family to family.  Such teaching can include the things that reflect  our family values such as kindness and generosity.  Other teaching focuses on the mechanics of life: telling time, basic household chores, personal hygiene and the like. Most parents do a pretty good job balancing the two.

But how much time do we spend on teaching those remarkable success skills most of us don’t learn about until later in life?  What about goal-setting, visualization, Law of Attraction, contagious gratitude? Aren’t these the things that really set people apart from the pack?

Success stories begin with a dream and are accomplished by setting goals, hard work and sacrifice.  On the other hand, I don’t subscribe to the school of  “you can do anything you want.”   We’re not all born with identical talents and abilities and it’s not fair to pretend that we are.

So how do we support our kids’ imaginations without stepping on their dreams?

First, recognize that being invited into our kids’ rich imaginations is a privilege.  When we notice and value their skills (without being too pushy) we’re opening a door that encourages them to do the same.  And teaching them the name “visualization” brings a level of adult importance not always associated with “day dreams” or “fantasy.”

Asking some (just a few) questions about what they see, hear and feel at various points in their story about hitting the game winning home run, winning the science fair or coming back to earth after space travel will help them practice the vivid mental and emotional skills vital to making visualizations work well. The answers can also give you valuable insights into what motivates this particular child:  is it accomplishment?  Teamwork?  Exploration?  Public accolades?  A combination?

And, speaking of a question or two, have you incorporated that type of reward into your parenting toolkit?

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Speaking of visualization…. Did you know that Raising Good Grown-ups is now available on Kindle?

67 People, Programs, Products or Ideas That Make a Difference

Jul 182011
 

Earlier today I heard the suggestion that to honor Nelson Mandela’s 93rd each of us contribute 67 minutes to helping someone: one minute for each of his years of community service.

Vintage “me” – it took me about 4 seconds to come up with the idea…. and about four times longer than expected to implement it. (Story of my life!)

I grew up hearing that I should surround myself with people – and ideas – better than myself. It’s some of the best advice I’ve ever received and one of the reasons that I enjoy Twitter so much: I can control what I read and try to make sure that it is smart, positive and challenges me to be better.

My idea? Dip into my Twitter steam and share with you. Give you a chance to connect to some of the people who inspire me. Here’s my list (for today, anyway) of 67 People, Programs, Products or Ideas That Make a Difference. I invite you to check them out for yourselves… and, (as long as it’s not advertising and you tell us WHY they make a difference to you) add your own in the comments!

(It’s a long enough list that I’ve just decided to split it up and post it over a few days.)

Attitude is everything and we can’t help anyone else unless we’re OK ourselves. The first few links are daily doses of attitude adjustment!

1. Your attitude + your choices = your life. ‘nuff said?
2. Author Ray Davis provides a daily dose of affirmative thinking.
3. Sana Quijada practices psychiatry and writes about becoming a better friend to yourself.
4. Here’s another dose of positive!
5. Parenting, small business and a remarkable founder. Check the archives for her powerful “Are You Mothering a Mug Shot” post.
6. Lisa M. Wilber ~ a friend and successful Avon-preneur, dedicated to women’s economic independence — one consultant at a time!
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7.Dori diCarlo just launched the “it begins with a bag” campaign to help Alabama’s tornado-impacted student-athletes get back on their feet.
8.There are people who take photographs and there are artists whose medium is photography. I believe that when people bring their best selves to their work they can’t help but make a difference.
9.Keyuri Joshi is a talented parenting coach with a great blog and a focus on teaching emotional intelligence.
10. Artist Michael Juroque Johnson adds beauty, color and inspiration to the world around him.
11. Zen teacher and Mom Karen Maezen Miller writes a blog called Cheerio Road; I think that non-preachy discussions of practical spirituality lift us all.
12. Voice in Recovery is a powerful advocate for healthy living, media literacy and self-love and acceptance. Her message resonates with a variety of audiences including many people with eating disorders, body image struggles, substance abuse and self harm.
13. Casa Valentina.org addresses the needs of young women making the transition from foster care to independent living (Dade County FL)
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14. While don’t know a thing about their treatment program, I really appreciate the addiction and mental health news updates I get from them on Twitter.
15. Paul V. Harris is a recent addition to my daily news stream. Having recovered from burns over 85% of his body, he now teaches others how to overcome fear.
16. Another pro-literacy organization. Got a book in you? Let this crazy crew help you get it out!
17. Statistics show that women pay more for their cars than our male counterparts. Help end that inequity.
18. Mom to Madre extends a hand, both in English and Spanish, to young Moms trying to beat the odds. They are located in San Diego County.
19. Like many groups connected to professional sports, the Penguins Foundation works to promote physical health, encourage teamwork, value education and provide important life skills to kids.
20. Sonny Brewer is a generous and inspiring author.

To be continued….

VolunteerSpot : Four Reasons to Volunteer with Your Kids

Jan 022011
 

In conversations about changes for the coming year many of us are focused on being more organized and efficient.  Lots of parents, of course, are also thinking about how to teach those skills to their kids.

Thanks to the folks at VolunteerSpot for inviting this guest post called ‘Four Reasons to Volunteer with Your Kids.’

 

 

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