Feel Good Friday

Good morning, Beauties! 

"Our aspirations are our possibilities" -Robert Browning

Are you dreaming big?  Can you teach your kids to dream big & be positive?  How much would that help you hit your goals if your family fed back positivity vibes to you?

Check out this article about teaching kids to be positive, written by Jon Gordon:

"I’m not naturally a positive person. The research says it’s not my fault. Turns out some people are born with a more positive disposition while others are born with more of a negative disposition. But there is hope. The latest research in neuroscience and positive psychology demonstrates that we can mold our brains and ourselves to be more positive, which is great news for me and my children.


For the past eight years I’ve researched and practiced countless strategies to enhance positivity...  I’ve seen the fruits of these efforts in my life and in the people I’ve taught—most importantly my own children. I’ve seen how simple strategies and daily rituals can make a tremendous impact on their mindset, belief system and outlook on life.

I believe that positive kids become positive adults and as parents we can play a significant role in shaping our children’s perspective and mindset. In this spirit I want to share with you several tips to develop positive kids.

1. Success of the Day - Each night before bed, at dinner or while taking an after dinner walk ask your children their success of the day. The success could be a great conversation, an accomplishment at school, something they are proud of, a situation where they helped someone, etc. The important thing is to help them focus on accomplishments instead of failures. When we help our children expect success, look for success, and celebrate success they find more success and gain more confidence. Of course they need to learn from their mistakes and failures, but let’s help them to not dwell on them.

2. Bedtime Prayer - A ritual such as this provides your children with a foundation of peace, security, and confidence that gives them the strength to take on the daily challenges of being a child.

3. Implement the No Complaining Rule - It’s a simple rule that says you’re not allowed to complain unless you identify one or two possible solutions to your complaint. This empowers children to become a driver of their bus instead of being a passenger griping on the bus. They also learn to use complaints as a catalyst for positive change and positive action. Visit www.NoComplainingRule.com

4. Teach them the Positive Shark Formula, E + P = 0 - This is from my latest book, The Shark and The Goldfish, which is a story about a nice and positive shark who teaches Gordy the goldfish how to overcome his fear of change and find food. After all, Goldfish wait to be fed. Sharks go find food. The formula reveals that we can’t control the (E ) Events in our life. But we can control our (P) Positive Response to these events and our response determines the (O) outcome. This formula helps children develop a strong locus of control which is a perspective that through their beliefs and actions they have an influence on their life. They come to believe that they are not a victim of circumstance but rather a hero in their own inspirational tale and that they can turn their challenges into opportunities and transform bad events into good outcomes. This helps them stay optimistic and believe that their best days are ahead of them, not behind them.

5. Feel Blessed instead of Stressed - As parents we need to realize that children, like adults, deal with a lot of stress...and stress is the enemy of positivity. Well, the great news is that when you are feeling blessed you can’t be stressed. The research says we can’t be stressed and thankful at the same time. Thus, a simple ritual is to help your children identify 3 things they are thankful for each day. You can create a gratitude journal together or you can encourage them to write these blessings on their blog, diary or simply talk about them at dinner. And anytime they are feeling stressed you can encourage them to recall something they are thankful for.

I encourage you to think of your child’s mind like a garden. Each day you want to help them weed their negative thoughts and plant positive thoughts. One day of weeding and planting won’t do much. However if you practice these strategies each day, over a week, a month, a year, a lifetime, the garden grows more healthy and vibrant. Nurture your child. Take time to coach them and nourish them with lots of love and positive energy and you shall see the fruits of your efforts."

Obviously I'm not a parent, and let me know if you think this article is total bunk, but I thought it was kind of cute.  The fact that you can help over time to create a positivity nest within your own home is so intriguing to me, because if you have that nest of positive vibes, can you imagine how that would in turn make you feel about hitting your goals, whether they be physical/weight loss, or not???

Then take that thought a little further, what are some family workouts that you can do together that don't seem like workouts???  A friend of mine (in the summer) would jog next to her kids while they rode their bike through the neighboorhood.  The kids' encouragement as they would wait at each street crossing, "C'mon, Mom!" would push her to run faster & longer.  With snow coming up, what if YOU were actively sledding with your kids, instead of sending them w/ Dad or waiting for them at the bottom of the hill?  Could you run up the hill with them in the snow?  Killer burn and your kids would LOVE it.  What about YOU jumping on the trampoline with them?  What about YOU riding bikes with them?  What about YOU playing sports with them?  Laughing burns lots of calories.  So does swimming, building a snowman, making snow angels, going for walks, etc.  I'm going to pull out one of Nicki's favorite quotes here, "Action expresses priorities," -Ghandi (I think I have that right, right? :) ).  So if physical fitness and family time are priorities for you & things you want to teach your kids to value, then actually DOING the physical fitness and family time show and prove that those are priorities for you. 

What fun family fitness ideas do you have??? Can you fit any in this weekend?