Extra Time

Recently, the time changed where I live in Central Indiana. The change has afforded us more daylight in the evening. Currently, it is still light outside whenever it is time for my little children to go to bed. The extra sunlight has given my family the opportunity to be outside for a much longer period of time than we were just a few months ago.

The extra time gives us the opportunity to do things for others. The extra time affords us numerous new and exciting opportunities to spend with our children. We can use this time to instill in our youth that time spent together on mutually acceptable activities improves our attitude. We have the opportunity, through our actions, to teach our children that attitude is how we view each and every opportunity afforded us. Charles Swindoll reminds us that we cannot change what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to it. We can use the extra time in the evening to spend quality time with our children that will ultimately assist us in teaching our children to make the best of all situations.

With this extra family time, we need to set positive examples. Our actions speak louder than our words. New research reveals that emotional states are contagious. Our social brain harmonizes itself in relation to the state of the person with whom we are interacting. Based on this research, we need to remain positive and set examples whenever we are playing and interacting with our children. We have the opportunity to use this extra time to assist our children in developing positive attitudes!

So, how about you? Are you using this extra time to spend quality time with your children? Are you doing the little things that make a difference in their lives? I would love to hear examples of what you are doing with your children to set positive examples!

March Madness

"March Madness" is an exciting time of the year! Many people watched the college basketball tournament and cheered for their favorite teams! Not only is March a great time to follow college basketball, but also a wonderful time to think about the success of a team whether it be a family, an organization, a school, or a company.

Most people agree that a team is a group of individuals working interdependently toward a common goal for which members are mutually accountable. Unfortunately, whenever a person mentions the "individual" element, he or she is quickly reminded that the individual's identity must be suppressed for the good of the team. Thus the phrase, "There is no I in team.

What we must remember is the unique individuals who make up the collective teams in all facets of life, including families. Each person is unique, learns differently, is motivated differently, and possesses his or her own attributes. To get individuals to work interdependently, the uniqueness possessed by each human being must be recognized. If the "I" is missing in the team, the team does not really exist.

As you reflect on your "March Madness" experience, please remember the importance of each unique person that is part of "your team." Please treat each person as the unique person that he or she is and you will find the overall success of the team improve. What are you doing to support each person on your team? Please share examples of how you treat each person as a unique individual.