Happy Family

Here I Am

How well do you know your family? I mean, really.
Do you truly understand where each family member
is coming from? What they're thinking when you're
talking to them? What are their motivations and
desires, and how they're going to inflict chaos
on that institution that you'd like to call
"Home Sweet Home"?

If all is well with your happy family and you're happy
with the way things are going, you probably do.
If things are not going so well, and you maybe
sometimes thought that your happy family was getting
a little bit dysfunctional, then you need to go
back to the drawing board and reconfigure your
thinking on each family member.

In business, they teach you that to motivate a team
to achieve a common goal, you must first present a
vision and get everyone to buy into that vision.
Then you need to continually remind them of that
vision in a way that inspires them to help you
to achieve it.

What's your vision for your happy family? What does
"Home Sweet Home" mean to you? Have you ever
discussed this with your family? The vision
needs to be a common one that everyone can
agree to.

Clearly, each individual in the happy family has his
or her own vision of what utopia is to them.
Timmy's thinking Xbox 24x7 and no schoolwork.
Katy's teen crush and Manga books consume her.
Joe's a die-hard sports fan and beer-drinker.
And Mary's happy if she can have some time
to herself after she's managed to put
healthy food on the table after
coming home from a long day's work at her real job.

To achieve a balance and make everyone happy,
each must understand what the other's
end goal is. Together as a happy family, resolve
to make that end goal possible for each family
member (as long as it is legal and healthy).

Start the dialog today — and continue
the dialog for a few weeks. You're sure to
notice the difference!