WOW Word-Of-the-Week #429: Family

October 24, 2012 by  

Family people who share goals and values and have long-term commitments to one another.

Do you regularly spend time with your family members? Do you consider your close friends to be “like family?” Do you play tennis, golf or any other team sport?

This is the third WOW from Dustin Wax’s article titled, “10 HARD Ways to Make Your Life Better” on Life Hack.

4. Take an active role in your children’s’ activities

Pick one thing your child does and commit yourself to it. Coach their team, become a Brownie leader, spend a weekend day in the workshop with them, buy a bike and ride along with them — make their passions your own. Don’t crowd them — especially if you have teenagers — but show them that you value something they do by giving them your time and interest.

5. Start a family

I don’t mean have kids. That can be all too easy! Make the decision to have a family, which means to give of yourself fully to another person or several people. Risk being vulnerable by sharing your fears, quirks, and failures with someone else; you might find it makes you stronger than ever before.

This transcends marriage and parenthood. There are lots of people who can’t marry because the law prevents it. There are people who can’t have children. These are not the essential ingredients of family. The essential ingredients are love, mutual respect, trust, and open giving. Find (or make) someone you can share that with.

 6. Take up a sport

Enough with the working out already! Sure, you want to be healthy, but the whole treadmill-running, iPod-listening, 45-minutes-after-work thing is a little anti-social, don’t you think? OK, you want some solitude once in a while — fine. But at least add a sport, something you do with other people. You’ll be spending time interacting with others, while also developing team-building and leadership skills. And, you might learn something from your fellow players.

This week’s focus is on family. How many people have you shared long-term commitments with? What activities are your children or grand-children involved in? Have you spent time or showed an interest in those activities? What sport have you put off doing? What would it take for you to get involved and commit? Would developing team-building or leadership skills be of benefit to you?

Reader Responses

“I recall a quote from an elderly Aunt of mine back in the 50’s that always stuck in my mind that occurred after a family “tiff” during the annual Thanksgiving family get-together many many years ago.  Three members of the family were particularly known for getting on each others last nerve.  During a particularly “animated discussion my Aunt, who was known to enjoy her homemade Elderberry wine, stood up and proclaimed a  “A toast to Thanksgiving, that special time of the year that we get together to remind us why we all moved apart.” – John

“I once read that family (home) is the one place where they have to take you in. I think that is one of the best lines that I have ever read. I am at a point in my life where my wife and daughters are the most important people in my life. I spend time at the park with my four-year-old, in addition to working with her on word flashcards and simple math. When she listens at daycare, she gets pennies in her piggy bank. I listen to my 10-year-old practice piano and oboe, and when she wants to show me a new step that she learned in her Irish step-dancing lesson, I take the time to watch. And I help her study and check her homework. I am grateful that I spend this time with them because it won’t be long when they begin to want to spend more time with their friends. That is fine with me, because I want them to have full lives. My wife and I make a point to do things on weekends with the girls, like our recent trip to a pumpkin patch. So, it is these little things that make a difference in my daughters’ lives and my life. It adds to my attitude of gratitude every day. Family helps to make it a wonderful life. I have much for which to be grateful.” – Warrior” Joe

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