Pretty much everyone I know, including myself, often makes comments about the passage of time. You know what I mean, things like, “WOW! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you!” Or “Geeez this afternoon will never end; time is going so sloooowww!”
Whatever perception we may have of the time passing by, we have opportunities every day, to be intentional not only with ourselves, but also with the people around us.
I believe a great starting point for this blog series is to talk about the much-needed foundation to our relationships. I’m talking game-changer intentionality that is SO SIMPLE, but somehow incredibly hard to pull off! I blame it mostly on the 20 million things that are pulling at our mind and time obligations. But! You can start making choices today that will seriously make a huge difference in your relationships with your parents, friends, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters!
OK, are you ready for it? Here’s the “secret sauce”:
15 MINUTES of One-on-One time.
Boom! I’m not kidding.
You should see the look in my children’s eyes when I come to them to spend 15 minutes, or more, of my day to make a catapult with them or read their favorite book. Or, think about how good it feels to video chat with your family or friend to check in on their lives and laugh about old memories.
And the most important of all is being intentional about spending that 15 minutes of One-on-One time with my wifey. It literally makes her day to be able to get that time together and talk about what is on our hearts and minds.
It is so crucial to build up our relationships.
If you’re a parent or mentor, your son or daughter needs to know that they are loved, cared for, and secure with you. You may be like, “hey, I at least see them for a couple hours on the weekend!” or “we get great family time in the summer!” Yes, those are great times and incredible memories, but your child needs you every day. Your spouse needs you every day also! If you can’t physically be there, phone calls and video chats convey the same message. It is such a strong foundation to build upon and sets your relationships and their lives up for success.
Sounds so simple right? But somehow I have noticed that getting that 15 minutes with our loved ones can be really hard! I’m definitely not perfect at doing this. And it makes certain someones pretty bummed to not get that special time together.
So how do we fight for that?
Bethany is super passionate about this. After Bethany had a conversation with Kate Merrick for the Be Present Course, we have made simple decisions in our lives that have had amazing impacts on our family life. Small things like sticking to boundaries with our phones and TV (no phones at dinner and TV very sparingly) can make a huge difference. Not watching a lot of TV/news/cartoons creates a ton of opportunity for bonding (board games, reading, etc.). We’ve also made even harder decisions like saying no to team sports that practice at crazy hours or often have games on Sundays during Church. However, these decisions have been so good for our family! (Seriously, check out the course to get some tips. It’s so worth it!)
Even with all the tips, you’re probably still going to find it hard to carve out the time for one another. But, I encourage you to be intentional this week. Don’t let the time and opportunities slip away! Start making that time for one another and see the ripple effect it can have! You got this.
Stay tuned for more thoughts on navigating today’s culture. This is a great place to start and from here we will be able to start diving deeper and deeper.
Take care,
Adam, Bethany, & the Boys
