Six questions to create your best summer
Reflections on Your Daily Experience
What if instead of trying to have the grandest summer ever, you tried to be your personal best every day… summer included? Rather than falling into the comparison trap of comparing your summer t o that of your Facebook or Instagram friends, what if you used a different approach to creating a summer of renewal? In his excellent book, Triggers: Creating Behavior that Lasts/Becoming the Person You Want to Be, Marshall Goldsmith suggests that we all ask ourselves the following questions each day.
| Today–Did I do my best to: |
| Set clear goals? |
| Make progress toward goal achievement? |
| Find meaning? |
| Be happy? |
| Build positive relationships? |
| Be fully engaged and present? |
This is a revolutionary approach to living each day because it takes the responsibility for our actions and feelings off of others and puts it squarely where it belongs… on our own shoulders. No more comparing our day at home to the neighbors’ day at the theme park. While Goldsmith is recommending these questions to adults, i think they are quite relevant to kids as well. Here’s what it might look like:
Spend time over the dinner table discussing these six questions. Model for your children how these questions are relevant for your daily life as well as theirs. Here are some examples:
- What was your goal today? This could be anything from reading a book to exercising to having fun with friends.
- What progress did you make?
- How did you create your own meaning? This doesn’t have to be philosophical and deep. Maybe you were being creative, social, learning something new or helping someone out.
- Did you decide to be happy? How did that turn out? If you were unhappy, how could you turn that around tomorrow?
- Did you build positive relationships with your family and friends? What are some examples? What did you do that was kind? helpful?
- Were you fully engaged and present… did you give all your attention to what you were doing at the moment?
I know that these questions are challenging. I’ve started asking myself these questions every day, and some days I fall short. But the important thing is to reflect, share and grow together as a family.
Here is a video on creating an intentional life:
Make the most of your summer! Let me know in the comments what you are doing…
