Holiday conversations – are you listening?

What conversations are you having with your family these holidays?

When you ask your family, children or friends ‘how was 20016 for you?’ these holidays are you really taking the time to listen to what they have to say?  Are you making use of the slower holiday-pace of living  to truly listen, have conversations and connect with them?

We all love to chat about what we are going to do next year – what resolutions – ie what promises, we want to make.  It is so exciting to erase the year past and to look forward to the future.  We make commitments to improve our lives – that’s what resolutions are for right?

But why don’t we take a moment to look backwards before the clock strikes midnight on 31 December.  What would a conversation sound like if we asked “What made me most anxious this year, could I have done things differently and if so what prevented it?”

Now,  this is not a mission to start beating yourself up.  Ask yourself …”How could I have we worked through that situation – how could we have handled it better – what are we going to do in the future to avoid certain situations in 2017?”  What lessons can we take away from 2016 and bring with us into 2017?

This could be as basic as, I didn’t hit my exercise goals this year because I let work take over.

I wasn’t going to let my boss take advantage of me – I really wanted to step up but never felt I could

Your kids might say, I wish you had seen me score that awesome goal at soccer/netball

What are you missing out on because of demands from other people?

Being more connected over the break might give you some personal insights as to how you can truly embrace promised made for 2017 and deliver!

Go on – connect with your family and start the conversation.