The Scenario: There is a disconnect in communication in your family. You feel the barriers between siblings around certain subjects and the miscommunication runs rampant between you and your partner. It’s hard to find time to begin working on communication.

What do you do?

Go back to basics and make the time to have dinner when the entire family is present. A  Gallup Poll indicates that 24% of families eat dinner together an average of 2-3 nights during the week. Additional studies indicate that making dinner a regular family activity can:

1. Improve communication

• Creates an opportunity for open communication among the family members.

2. Boost student performance in school

• Students who eat dinner with family 4 or more times a week perform better on tests than students who eat dinner 3 or fewer times with their families during the week.

3. Facilitate adjustment

• Children who eat more meals with their families during the week are more able to adapt to different social settings outside of the home.

4. Ensure better nutrition

• Parents tend to cook healthier food when the family gathers together for dinner.

The Insight: Set aside time throughout the week to spend with your family. Don’t allow interruptions. It’s easy to let outside obligations dictate your schedule, but make the effort to appreciate your family and nurture your support system.

How often do you enjoy dinner with your loved ones?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: Have you ever spent time with a group of people you really enjoyed and when you left you said, “Why don’t I do this more often?” After a few laughs you felt a little more content with life or like you filled a void.

Does a laugh a day keep the doctor away?

According to research conducted by Psychology Professor Robert R. Provine and Laughter Therapist Steven Wilson, M.A., C.S.P. , because laughter gets oxygen to your cells and promotes energy and vitality, it’s directed related to:

1. Reduction of Pain and Stress

• Laughter releases endorphins which reduce the feeling of pain in our bodies

2. Boost in Energy and the Immune System

• Laughter causes an increase in the flow of blood and oxygen in our bodies while raising our heart rates

3. Burned calories

• 10 to 15 minutes of intense laughter can burn up to 50 calories

Research shows that people laugh 30 times more in groups than when they are on their own. Children laugh up to 200 times a day while adults laugh 15 times or less.

The Insight: Everyday we are presented with opportunities to laugh. Don’t let them pass you by. Think of it as an exercise in you and a personal benefit that reduces your stress.

When was the last time you had a gut-wrenching laugh?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: When someone speaks too slowly, do you pay attention? If they speak too quickly, do you understand their message?

Are there ways to communicate more effectively to connect with people?

Pay attention to the words they use, their body language, and overall concepts when trying to connect with people. Speed Reading People is a relatively recent innovation that teaches one to quickly seek and identify certain characteristics in others, thereby allowing you to cater your speech, body language and different aspects of communication toward their needs.

Major components are:

1. Speed Reading

• Identify specific characteristics according to posture, countenance, mannerisms, energy level, vocabulary and styles of speech.

2. Speed Reaching

• Modifying one’s own behavior to fit the needs of the audience while creating a meaningful connection with the audience to more efficiently communicates one’s message.

Connecting with people is the first step in creating community.

The Insight: If we simply pay attention and take the time to discover what inspires, concerns or pleases the people we want to connect with we will be well equipped to relate.

How do you connect with people?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: Do you stand in the way of your own success sometimes and you don’t know why? Or maybe you know someone who makes the same mistakes over and over again? They come to you for advice, you talk to them, it seems like they get it, but two days later they are doing the same thing.  It’s as if they know what needs to be done but are incapable of doing it.

What stands in the way of personal behavioral change?

According to James M. Olson, Ph.D., professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, there are several psychological barriers that inhibit behavior modification or change:

1. Admission of the Problem

• Minimizing or refusing to admit the problem
• Believing oneself insusceptible to the problem
• Attributing symptoms of the problem to a less severe cause
• Allowing emotions to interfere with decision-making

2. Initial Attempts to Change

• Ignorance to the problem or its severity
• Lack of confidence in one’s ability to effectively change behavior
• Negative attitudes toward change or its outcome

3. Long Term Change

• Reverting to the original negative attitude toward change
• Believing the changes are unsuccessful
• Absence of outside encouragement
• Reversion to old behavior

The Insight: It’s important to identify the barriers we create for ourselves when confronted with life challenges so that we are better equipped to recognize the obstacles and pursue the behavioral changes we need and want to make.

Are you able to face your barriers?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: Do you stand in the way of your own success sometimes and you don’t know why? Or maybe you know someone who makes the same mistakes over and over again? They come to you for advice, you talk to them, it seems like they get it, but two days later they are doing the same thing.  It’s as if they know what needs to be done but are incapable of doing it.

What stands in the way of personal behavioral change?

According to James M. Olson, Ph.D., professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, there are several psychological barriers that inhibit behavior modification or change:

1. Admission of the Problem

• Minimizing or refusing to admit the problem
• Believing oneself insusceptible to the problem
• Attributing symptoms of the problem to a less severe cause
• Allowing emotions to interfere with decision-making

2. Initial Attempts to Change

• Ignorance to the problem or its severity
• Lack of confidence in one’s ability to effectively change behavior
• Negative attitudes toward change or its outcome

3. Long Term Change

• Reverting to the original negative attitude toward change
• Believing the changes are unsuccessful
• Absence of outside encouragement
• Reversion to old behavior

The Insight: It’s important to identify the barriers we create for ourselves when confronted with life challenges so that we are better equipped to recognize the obstacles and pursue the behavioral changes we need and want to make.

Are you able to face your barriers?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships