Families who dine at home together are happier and healthier, but work, school, sports practices and other obligations all seem to get in the way. 
Whether your family mealtime happens every night or only once a week, in the morning before school or late-night for just dessert, it's important to take advantage of whatever opportunity you have to nourish the mind, soul and stomach of everyone at the table.

Having Dinner With Your Family

In the United States <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267720308_Of_Ketchup_and_Kin_Dinnertime_Con%20versations_as_a_Major_Source_of_Family_Knowledge_Family_Adjustment_and_Family_Resilie%20nce">about 70 percent of meals</a> are consumed outside the home, and about 20 percent are eaten in the car. About half of American families rarely have family dinner.Decades of research have shown that children who regularly eat dinner with their families at home do better on a number of health measures.

Plan: The Key Is Togetherness, Not Timing

When kids eat with their parents, they are more likely to have:<ul><li>More fruits and vegetables and drink less soda.</li><li>Lower rates of obesity as both children and adults.</li><li>Higher self-esteem and a more positive outlook.     </li><li>Lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, school behavioural problems and depression.</li><li>Better body image and fewer eating disorders.</li><li>Better grades, higher reading scores and better vocabulary.</li></ul>

Benefits Of Eating With Family

You have more chances than you realize to connect with your family at the table. During the work week, most families have two opportunities a day to dine together (breakfast and dinner) and three chances (breakfast, lunch and dinner) on the weekends.
That gives us a total of 16 traditional meal opportunities a week to connect with our families.

Pick The Eating Occasion

Pros: Morning is often the only time everyone is together; kids love breakfast food. A study of 8,000 children in Europe showed that kids who ate breakfast with parents five or more days a week were 40 percent less likely to be overweight than their peers. Cons: Mornings can be rushed. Harvard’s Family Table project estimates that many families only have about 10 minutes for breakfast. Kids may be sleepy and not as engaged in conversation.

Family Breakfast: Pros And Cons

Pros: Usually simple and faster than other meals; great for picnics. Cons: Just two chances a week (Sat, Sun) for most working families; an only family meal with a potential negative. Studies show that children who eat daily lunch with their parents are more likely to be overweight.

Lunch: Pros And Cons

Pros:  Longest meal of day (about 22 mins); a good time to catch up on events of day, school, work etc. Cons: Tough on working parents to get home in time to cook; for teens, homework and sports conflicts interfere with dinner time.

Dinner: Pros And Cons

Pros: More time to prepare food, fewer scheduling conflicts. Cons: Television (sports) may be more tempting; kids may have less to say about school.

Weekend Meals: Pros And Cons

Pros: Great option when one parent can’t be home for full dinner; use time at the table for game, conversation. Cons: Adds extra calories to the day; time at table will be shorter than a regular meal.

Extended Snack: Pros And Cons

Pros: Kids love dessert so they will definitely show up; best to serve fruit at least some of the time. Cons: Risk of extra calories and sugaring up kids before bedtime

Desserts: Pros And Cons

Family researchers emphasize that there isn’t a magic number for family meals. But they do note that the benefits increase with every meal, so the more times you can gather as a family, the better. Every time parents sit down with their kids, it creates another opportunity to connect, and strong family connections appear to keep teens healthier and safer in a number of areas. 
Remember, the family table is not just about dinner — you have 16 opportunities a week to connect over a traditional meal and you can always gather at the table for just a snack or dessert.

The Sweet Spot

The more times a week a teen sat down for a family meal, the more likely he or she reported having high-quality relationships with parents. Family dinners are also strongly linked to lower rates of teen substance abuse. Here are some numbers to think about:0-2 Meals Per Week: Family researchers are most concerned about families that drop below eating three meals a week. 3 Meals a Week: Three days a week is the point where researchers begin to notice positive trends in a child’s nutritional and emotional health.5-7 Meals a Week: Where the greatest benefits in teen and family health were seen.

The More The Better

<ul>
<li>Family meals don’t have to look like a Norman Rockwell painting. “I believe the magic can happen without perfection,” says Lynn Barendsen, a co-founder of The Family Dinner Project. “Come together and enjoy each other’s company and manage to have a great meal."</li>
<li>If both parents can’t be home at the same time for dinner, or if teen sports practices get in the way, plan your table time for later in the evening around a family snack or late-evening dessert.</li>
<li>Don’t try to go from 1 or 2 meals a week to 7 meals overnight. Look at your family’s schedule for the week and try to find just one meal time that works for your family. Let everyone know and add your plans to the calendars of all the adults and teens in the house.</li>
</ul>

Keep It Simple

Don’t try to do everything at once. Look at your family and decide what your needs are. If it’s more family table time, try to find one extra meal that works. 
If you’ve got picky eaters, focus on strategies to help everyone eat more healthful. If your problem is tension at the dinner table, focus on conversation starters and games to keep everyone happy and engaged.

Set One Goal

<ul>
<li>The Family Table should be a fun, welcoming space. It’s not a place for stress, arguments and grilling kids about their grades.</li>
<li>Family time at a restaurant is better than no family meal time at all. But the reality is that meals eaten outside the home are almost always less healthful.</li>
</ul>

Keep it Fun

Sometimes the family table only has one adult. Divorced and single parents have different dinner planning challenges than married parents.
Sometimes one parent has to leave for work early, come home late or be away on business, leaving another parent to manage the family meal. Remember that a successful family table is one that results in family connection, healthful food and fun conversation. One adult at the table is better than none.

Solo Parents

One-child families, particularly when there is only one parent, can feel lonely at the family table. 
Eating meals with your child as often as possible still counts as a family meal, but consider joining another family from time to time to add a little extra noise and conversation to your family table.

Small Families

Sometimes an older sibling or caregiver is in charge of feeding the kids at night. 
You can still get the benefits of a family meal by making sure healthful food is served, and asking the caregiver to create a fun meal or suggest games or conversation starters that will allow children and teens to connect with each other and their caregiver.

Caregivers

The magic of the family table comes from the conversation and connection between parents and children, but it’s also important to serve nourishing food, model healthful eating habits and avoid food battles.
Childhood health experts say the best advice for improving a child’s diet is simply putting healthful food on the table and sitting down together to eat it.

Nourish: Good Food Brings Everyone Together

Everybody at the table, including the parents, has likes and dislikes. You can create different dishes for the meat lovers, vegetarians and picky eaters. Or you can just brace yourself for a nightly food battle. 
But why not make it easier on everyone and create buffet-style build-your-own meals? Start with a basic ingredient and then step aside and let everyone create their own favorite version of the dish.

Build Your Own

Once the food is served, limit any food talk about how good it tastes. Don’t make comments about how much or how little someone has put on their plate. Even something as simple as “Just eat a little more of that,” could prompt a child to become stubborn and resist the food. No cajoling. No bribing, as It makes for tension at the table and it’s counterproductive

Don't Comment On The Food

Children learn eating behaviors, both good and bad, from a parent. So dinner time is a good time to model healthful eating. If a child has avoided a dish, don’t pressure them. 
 Just give yourself a heaping serving, and ask them if they want to try. If they say no, just say “more for me!” and keep eating.

Setting An Example

With hot stoves, boiling water and sharp knives at hand, it is understandable that parents don’t want children in the kitchen when they’re making dinner. But studies suggest that involving children in meal preparation is an important first step in getting them to try new foods.

Take Them To The Kitchen

The secret sauce of family dinner is not the food — it’s the connection parents and kids make with each other.Family meals offer a natural opportunity for parental influence. There are few other contexts in family life that provide a regular window of focused time together.This is good news for parents who feel like they can’t quite pull off the perfect family meal every time, because what really seems to matter is just being there to talk, listen and see your kids, even if the meal is just a quick sandwich or a store-prepared chicken.

The Connect

Family meals should be fun, interesting and free of conflict. Don't Talk About: Bad grades or school problems: Kids never feel good when they struggle in school. Chores: Kids feel berated when parents keep reminding them of chores. Politics: Whether you broach the topic of politics depends on your family.What everyone is eating: It’s never helpful to comment about the food one of your kids is eating or not eating.

What Not To Talk About

How you can help:  Ask your kids if they need any help with homework or school projects. Weekend and vacation plans: Topics like holiday plans, weekend outings and dream vacations (past and future) are terrific topics for a fun family dinner. Current events: A family table is a great place for serious topics about the world around us. What everyone wants to eat: The dinner table is a great place to talk about foods you love, foods that make you squeamish or the best (or worst) meal you’ve ever had.

What To Talk About

Some families choose “zero tolerance” for mealtimes. There are certainly times when this is a good idea for everyone. Zero tolerance means you turn off all computers, televisions and cellphones. 
Here’s the bad news — it’s usually parents who are most likely to break the rules. So zero tolerance needs to apply to everyone at the table, not just the kids.

Tech-Free Zone

Do your kids have a favorite song or video that’s on their minds? Sometimes technology can spark a conversation and family connection. Watch a short clip or let your child read from a funny blog post. Now put the phones in the center of the table and enjoy the conversation that ensues after you’ve allowed yourself to peek inside your child’s digital world.

Conversation Starters

To get the most out of the family table, it’s time to learn how to play with your food.Every time you gather as a family around the table, remember to create one fun and playful moment that everyone at the table can share. You can make shapes and faces out of food, make a recipe a parent loved as a child, play table games or pose an unusual question of the day. “As our worlds have become increasingly virtual, cooking is one of the rare activities that involve our senses, allows us to make things with our hands, and is an activity that we can do together.

Play

The table is a great place to reconnect as a family. We'll show you how. 

food

Food

habits

Habits

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

The Family Table - Well Guides

<ul>
<li>People are more connected, digitally, than ever. Yet loneliness is epidemic.</li>
<li>Combat loneliness by listening to others without distraction.</li>
<li>Elevate your small-talk skills by embracing authentic curiosity.</li>
<li>Having productive conversations about uncomfortable topics requires empathy. Show appreciation and gratitude.</li>
<li>Become a better digital communicator by focusing on your intent.</li>
<li>People will still seek out the human connection in the post-pandemic world.</li>
<li>Strengthen your connections by expressing vulnerability.</li>
</ul>

Key Takeaways

US surgeon general Vivek Murthy describes five forms of being alone – the first four of which can damage your mental and physical health:
<ul>
<li>Intimate loneliness – You long for someone in whom you can confide or an intimate partner.</li>
<li>Relational loneliness – You yearn for quality social companions and friendships.</li>
<li>Collective loneliness – You feel you lack a community of like-minded individuals.</li>
<li>Isolation – You’re physically alone.</li>
<li>Solitude – Unlike the first four states of being, solitude is a peaceful state of voluntary isolation, often for the purpose of self-reflection.</li>
</ul>

The Five Forms Of Being Alone

Healthy relationships generate a slew of positive benefits. Research shows, for example, that doubling your number of friends boosts your well-being as much as increasing your income by 50%. But despite humanity’s need for connection, people everywhere are experiencing increased loneliness. In 2018, 22% of American adults reported that they often or always felt isolated or lonely. The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has sent such feelings into overdrive..

The Importance Of Healthy Relationships

Digital forms of communication abound, but social connection platforms can actually exacerbate feelings of loneliness. For example, people who passively scroll and post status updates on Facebook – as opposed to engaging with others via comments – actually feel more isolated

Connected Yet Isolated

You can overcome your feelings of loneliness by cultivating stronger listening skills, which allow you to better connect with others. 
People can be bad listeners for many reasons: They’re busy formulating responses while the other person is still talking, or they have an intense emotional reaction to something someone is saying. They might be impatient with the speed with which the other person is conveying information. Or their smartphones distract them.

Combat Loneliness by Listening to Others Without Distraction

Slow down and be intentional with your focus. Put away your devices. Don’t force a conversation to follow your own agenda. Instead, try asking open-ended questions, letting others direct the flow of the conversation.

Cultivate Stronger Listening Skills: Beat Distraction

You aren’t really listening if you’re busy predicting what someone is going to say next.When people repeat phrases or words, they’re often revealing their primary focus, which is valuable information.

Listening With Awareness

When people express intense emotions, avoid the impulse to react emotionally too. Instead, ask neutral questions like what makes the issue so important to them.Spark your curiosity instead of falling in the emotional roller coaster.

Let Emotions Spark Your Curiosity

<ul>
<li>Use your eyes – To better understand others, pay attention to body language clues, such as your conversation partner protectively crossing his or her arms.</li>
<li>Embrace a “beginner’s mind” – Remain open-minded, letting go of any assumptions of your own expertise.</li>
<li>Ask the right questions – People view others as strong listeners when they ask thoughtful questions. Good questions typically use the words “what” and “how.”</li>
</ul>

Tips For Better Listening

Build stronger social ties by cultivating curiosity about others. Research shows that people feel closer to conversation partners who express curiosity. They also view such individuals as more attractive. Curious people care about what’s happening around them and genuinely want to hear people’s stories. They have an open-minded approach to listening, which makes them appear more trustworthy.

Elevate Your Small-Talk Skills

People often conceal their true feelings from others when performing social roles. For example, when making a sales pitch, you might pretend to be confident when you’re actually feeling insecure. Yet a willingness to show others your authentic self is the bedrock of healthy relationships. You might assume that displaying vulnerability will cause others to view you as weak, but the reverse is true: Research shows that people like individuals who display vulnerability better than those who don’t.

Expressing Vulnerability

Ask yourself why you want to tell a story. Are you hoping to entertain, enlighten, persuade or give information to your listeners? Think about your audience’s concerns and priorities, and how your story could service those needs.

Reflect On The Purpose Of Your Storytelling

<ul>
<li>Share a secret or unexpected truth – Revealing something unexpected about yourself (provided you’re not oversharing with the wrong people) can intrigue your listeners.</li>
<li>Include vivid details – Improve your storytelling skills by sharing the details of what you could hear, see, taste, touch and smell.</li>
</ul>

Tips To Show Vulnerbility

<ul>
<li>Share a transformational truth – If you want people to celebrate your success with you, then share the struggles and moments of conflict you faced before reaching your goal.</li>
<li>Establish your credibility – People are attracted to credible people who display vulnerability, but they’re repelled by those they perceive as lacking in competence.</li>
<li>Be genuine – People can tell when you’re trying to manipulate them with contrived stories about your vulnerable moments.</li>
</ul>

Being Vulnerable: Establish Your Crediblility By Sharing Truth

Use these strategies to minimize unproductive conflicts, navigate uncomfortable conversations and build empathy with others:
<ul>
<li>Practice – Spend a moment trying to take someone else’s perspective. Imagine how you’d feel if you were in another person’s situation.</li>
<li>Challenge yourself – Try to imagine how a person with views opposed to your own, such as someone with differing political beliefs, might feel about the situation or subject matter under discussion.</li>
<li>Recognize your biases – Everyone has unconscious biases, which can prevent people from empathizing with others.</li>
</ul>

Minimize Conflicts

<ul><li>If you want to strengthen your bonds with others, approach conversations with a spirit </li><li>of generosity and gratitude. Take time to show others you appreciate them by making them “feel famous.” </li><li>You see them and are grateful for their presence and contributions to the world.</li><li>A spirit of generous gratitude could completely transform the way you interact with the people in your life, if you let it.</li></ul>

Show Appreciation and Gratitude

<ul>
<li>Take notes – Jot down notes about new people you meet. Refer to your notes before you see them next.</li>
<li>Give people access to you – To build trust with others and make them feel valued, share something with them that you don’t share with everybody you meet.</li>
<li>Praise them – Pay people specific compliments about things they’ve done. Note concrete ways their actions positively affected you or others.</li>
<li>Celebrate milestones – Create unforgettable experiences for people to help them celebrate their milestone moments.</li>
</ul>

Tips To Make Others Feel Better

Focus on other people’s faces when they tell you their names. To further cement a name in your memory, ask a question about the name, such as how to spell it. Or make a connection between the name and something/someone else. You can also try using a person’s name in conversation.

Remember Names

<ul>
<li>Use emojis when appropriate – Basic icons, such as thumbs-up symbols and smiley faces, help the recipient of a text-based message understand your desired tone.</li>
<li>Describe your emotions in video and voice calls – Use words to convey specific emotions. </li>
<li>Be energetic – People will find you more sincere if you communicate energetically than when you speak monotonously.</li>
<li>Don’t stare at your self-view – When you’re having video calls, hide the window displaying your own face to avoid feeling self-conscious and distracting yourself.</li>
</ul>

Become a Better Digital Communicator by Focusing on Your Intent.

Make a video of yourself reading something you’ve prepared, and watch it. Reflect on your performance, particularly on your effectiveness in conveying emotions. Make adjustments as necessary before attempting a live video call.

Record Yourself

When the pandemic ends, people will likely hug their friends again and greet one another physically. In the meantime, people will continue to find new ways to connect digitally, such as using virtual “buddy check-in” systems to help manage feelings of isolation.

Connection Styles

The future workplace is hybrid, with people working both from home and in offices. Leaders will need to proactively work to help their teams feel a sense of community and social connection.

Relationships First

A new age look at communication and relationships

You are one conversation away from changing your life. We all crave connection. We were never meant to live alone or communicate only in "likes" and retweets. In Every Conversation Counts, TV host and human connection keynote speaker Riaz Meghji digs deep into the dangers of isolation and loneliness, our social pandemic, that have been brought into sharp relief by the coronavirus crisis. He tackles a uniquely modern question: why are we so connected, and yet so alone--and how can we reconnect? Sharing personal insights from powerful interviews and years of on-air experience, Meghji offers 5 simple habits for building extraordinary relationships. He explains how to spark authentic conversations, win trust, create new business, and collaborate effectively. Meghji points a way forward to a better future--one in which we express genuine curiosity about others, listen with our whole hearts, show up as our authentic selves, and make every conversation count.

career

Career

communication

Communication

books

Books

You are one conversation away from changing your life. We all crave connection. We were never meant to live alone or communicate only in "likes" and retweets. In Every Conversation Counts, TV host and human connection keynote speaker Riaz Meghji digs deep into the dangers of isolation and loneliness, our social pandemic, that have been brought into sharp relief by the coronavirus crisis. He tackles a uniquely modern question: why are we so connected, and yet so alone--and how can we reconnect? Sharing personal insights from powerful interviews and years of on-air experience, Meghji offers 5 simple habits for building extraordinary relationships. He explains how to spark authentic conversations, win trust, create new business, and collaborate effectively. Meghji points a way forward to a better future--one in which we express genuine curiosity about others, listen with our whole hearts, show up as our authentic selves, and make every conversation count.

Riaz Meghji

Every Conversation Counts

<ul><li class="ql-indent-1"> There are four habits that show you how to have successful relationships: 1- Be curious, not critical. 2 - Be careful, not crushing. 3 - Ask, don't assume. 4 - Connect before you correct.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Manage the Emotional Bank Account. This is important to create the foundation for successful relationships. If you make more withdrawals than deposits your relationship will struggle. Keep a healthy balance.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">You can explore relationships on two dimensions. Motivation - How motivated are you to maintain and improve this relationship? Ability - How able are you to maintain and improve this relationship?</li></ul>

The Three Big Ideas

Great relationships don’t just happen – they are built on purpose.

Focus on building Relationship Intelligence, not only Emotional Intelligence:Relational Intelligence – our ability to connect, and stay connected, with the people around us.Emotional Intelligence - awakening (or improving) our ability to handle our own emotions and how they impact the people around us.

How To Have Successful Relationships: The Big Ideas Expanded

This habit is all about developing our self-awareness (and other-awareness!) through understanding fundamental differences, learning to give each other ‘space and grace’ to shine in our own strengths, and overcoming the frustration of unmet expectations.

Habit #1: BE CURIOUS, not critical

This one is all about self-management, building strong skills in managing conflict, learning to treat each other well no matter how heated the argument, and working toward genuine resolutions so that relationships are strengthened not damaged through conflict.

Habit #2: BE CAREFUL, not crushing

This habit is all about developing the social skills to build mutual trust and respect in relationships by clarifying values, having courageous conversations about things that really matter to us when necessary and overcoming the hurdles of mistrust and distance that can creep into relationships.

Habit #3: ASK, don’t assume

This one is all about learning to build great rapport, warmth and connection in relationships by consistently communicating appreciation and love in meaningful ways and overcoming the hurdle of feeling unvalued because of poor communication.

Habit #4: CONNECT, before you correct

<ul><li>Successful relationships are built upon a healthy emotional bank account.</li><li>You need to be aware of the behaviours that make deposits or withdrawals from the bank account. </li><li>When you have the balance right it creates a healthy foundation for good relationships.</li><li>If you have a challenging relationship focus on topping up the emotional bank account first.</li></ul>When the bank account is low you need to ask this fundamental question:‘Do I really care enough to put in the effort to maintain or improve this relationship?’

Manage the Emotional Bank Account

The status of your relationships can be viewed from two dimensions: <ul><li>Motivation: How motivated are you to maintain or improve this relationship?</li><li>Ability: How able are you to maintain or improve this relationship?</li></ul>

Successful Relationship Quadrant

Most healthy relationships go through cycles between Mutual Satisfaction and Frustration from time to time, which is all perfectly fine as long as you keep learning and improving your understanding of each other and don’t get stuck or set up camp in the Frustration zone.

Mutual Satisfaction and Frustration

In Desperation, the oxygen in the relationship is running out and typically people are ill-equipped to breathe life back in again, on their own. Desperation is toxic. Differences are misunderstood, needs are mostly unmet, and the likely experience is one of tension, frequent conflicts and an unending cycle of unmet expectations followed by disappointment, followed by negative reactions on either side, causing the relationship to spiral downwards.

Desperation

The Isolation quadrant is a place where no one wins. People ‘check out’ physically and/or mentally. They leave companies. They leave families. They leave friendships.

Isolation 

<ul><li>Commitment to ongoing efforts in building your understanding of each other.</li><li>Being more understanding in your responses.</li><li>Choosing to act and show appreciation in meaningful, specific ways.</li></ul>

The Heart of Successful Relationships

Successful relationships take work and wisdom. TEDx speakers, Jon and Andrea Taylor-Cummings share the four habits demonstrated by every successful relationship. By learning the principles and techniques that underpin these 4 habits, we can all change our behaviours from habits that damage relationships to habits that strengthen them, on purpose.

The quality of our relationships impacts just about everything that really matters most. They impact how we "show up" and what we are able to achieve - at home, at work and in life. They impact our health and wellbeing, and ultimately, they determine the quality of our very lives. But successful relationships don't just happen automatically. They take work. The problem is, often we have no idea what to work on! Every relationship faces hurdles. Our different views, opinions and approaches as individuals mean we have different expectations and when those expectations are not met, we feel frustrated and disappointed. Unaddressed and repeated over time, this frustration leads to broken relationships, broken homes and broken people. So many relationships lose out because we are not equipped to do relationships well before problems arise... until now. Based on over 25 years of working in relationship education, in this book, Dr. Andrea & Jon Taylor-Cummings share four fundamental habits that often distinguish between successful and unsuccessful relationships. Every successful relationship displays them and every failing relationship is missing at least one. By learning the principles, tools and techniques that underpin The 4 Habits(c) we can all change our behaviours from habits that damage relationships to habits that strengthen them, on purpose. This means we can all learn to "show up" better, have better conversations and achieve better outcomes in ALL our relationships - with our partners, children, colleagues, friends, everyone! These four habits are so fundamental to all relationships that they continue to resonate around the world through their TEDx Talk, which now has in excess of 1.8 million views: - Habit #1 - BE CURIOUS, not critical is about developing our self-awareness (and other-awareness!) through understanding fundamental differences, giving each other "space and grace" to shine in our own strengths and overcome the frustration of unmet expectations. - Habit #2 - BE CAREFUL, not crushing is about building strong skills in managing conflict, learning to treat each other well no matter how heated the argument, and working towards genuine resolutions so that relationships are strengthened not damaged through conflict. - Habit #3 - ASK, don't assume is about learning to build mutual trust and respect in relationships by clarifying values and having courageous conversations about things that really matter to us when necessary, overcoming the hurdles of mistrust and distance that can creep into relationships. - Habit #4 - CONNECT, before you correct is about learning to build great rapport, warmth and connection in relationships by consistently communicating appreciation and love in meaningful ways, and to overcome the hurdle of feeling unvalued because of poor communication. Together The 4 Habits provide the practical "how to" for building Emotional Intelligence in general, and Relational Intelligence in particular. When we are each equipped with the skills to do relationships well, we turn up as better versions of ourselves. Our marriages and partnerships are strengthened, our children flourish, our organisations and communities thrive, and our nations grow in health. We can and we must all become intentional about learning to do relationships well, as if our lives depended on it. Because, in reality, they do.

Jonathan Taylor-Cummings

Andrea Taylor-Cummings

The 4 Habits of All Successful Relationships

The older I get, the easier it is to close my eyes to poverty, pain, injustice, and evil. I can order my life, so that I am never put in a position of seeing anything unpleasant. I can look without seeing. I’m continue to pray daily that “God gives me eyes to see and ears to hear.” You can’t be a change agent if you don’t perceive the needs around you.

Stop ignoring the evil you encounter

Every time I used to encounter a homeless person, I would go through all kinds of mental gyrations. If I give money to this person, will they just use it to buy alcohol or drugs? Why don’t they just get a job? Maybe it would be better if I offered them some work rather than just give them money? Then I read the words of Matthew 5:42, “Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.” I then decided to make a deal with God. Now, whenever I encounter a homeless person or a beggar, I give them all the cash in my pocket. The money I give is my gift to God.

Stop over-thinking your response to it.

Erin couldn’t get the school to give books to her students. So, she got a second job and bought the books herself. The students wanted to bring Miep Gies, the Dutch woman whose family hid Anne Frank and her family, to the school to lecture. The school didn’t have the budget, so the students held a series of fund-raisers to come up with the money.What’s my excuse? No matter what my station in life is, it’s easy to think I don’t have enough resources. Resources are never the problem. The biggest challenge is simply my will to act.

Stop complaining about your lack of resources.

Let’s face it. The world needs heroes. It needs people who will be courageous and act on principle. But where can we find such people? Maybe the answer is closer than we think. The truth is it can start—and must start—with us.God has providentially put each of us exactly where we are. We need to ask, “Why am I here?” “What does God want me to do in this situation?” “What is the right thing to do?”

Start asking, “What is the right thing to do?”

I can’t afford to wait for my circumstances to be perfect. I will never have enough experience. I will never have the resources I need. I need to stop whining and just do it! Someone else is waiting for a hero. I may be the best opportunity they have. I may be their answer to prayer.

Be in the moment and act.

You have more power than you can imagine.

You have have more power than you sometimes give yourself credit for. Here are five ways to express it and become an everyday hero.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

problemsolving

Problem Solving

5 Ways You Can Be an Everyday Hero

<ul><li>Talkative girls and silent boys make the best couples.</li><li>Being loved back by a person you love exactly feels like having butterflies in the stomach.</li><li>Most of the time boys make the first move. But, if a girl does it then, believe me, no one can love you more than that girl.</li><li>Men love faster than Women.</li><li>Seeing a loved one automatically can raise your heart beat faster.</li><li>Most of the people can't make eye contact with their crush.</li></ul>

Some psychological facts about love are: 

<ul><li>Some people can't bear the loss of beloved ones and eventually die after a few months and years due to mental or physical illness.</li><li>The more you ignore the one you like the more you will fall for them.</li><li>Heartbreak after true love is equally painful as physical pain.</li></ul>

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

Some psychological facts about love: 

Projection is a psychological term for how we tend to put our own issues onto other people.Often the thing that frustrates us the most about other people is indicative of a part of us we haven't accepted yet.

Work on Your Projections

First, find your projections by making a list of how you judge someone else. Don't sugarcoat or overexplain: "I judge [person] as [judgement]."

Find your projections

Take a deep look at how that judgement applies to you. Say to yourself: "I can see and accept that I can be [judgement] too, and that's okay."

Transfer the judgement to yourself

Set intentions going forward that you will accept this part of yourself but also take steps to make healthier choices that are grounded in self-compassion and respect.

Set new intentions

You Don't Owe Anyone is for perfectionists, workaholics, people pleasers, and strivers who feel stuck in the try-hard cycle. Sharing her experiences as a life coach and recovering perfectionist, Caroline Garnet McGraw shows us how we can free ourselves from the weight of expectations and encourages us to move our lives forward without apology. Inspired by the author's viral essay "You Don't Owe Anyone an Interaction," this book invites us to make surprising choices that can help us get unstuck. Rather than offering more ways to effect change through sheer effort, these personal stories serve as a compassionate witness, a reflection of our own perfectionistic tendencies. They also are a wakeup call jolting us out of our martyr mentality and inspiring us to move in new, positive directions. Through simple, accessible coaching practices, You Don't Owe Anyone shows us what it looks like to refuse to over-function in the old ways. It invites us to make the same surprising choices that have helped McGraw and her clients move past perfectionism, empowering us to quiet our fears and heal our hearts.

You Don't Owe Anyone is for perfectionists, workaholics, people pleasers, and strivers who feel stuck in the try-hard cycle. Sharing her experiences as a life coach and recovering perfectionist, Caroline Garnet McGraw shows us how we can free ourselves from the weight of expectations and encourages us to move our lives forward without apology. Inspired by the author's viral essay &quot;You Don't Owe Anyone an Interaction,&quot; this book invites us to make surprising choices that can help us get unstuck. Rather than offering more ways to effect change through sheer effort, these personal stories serve as a compassionate witness, a reflection of our own perfectionistic tendencies. They also are a wakeup call jolting us out of our martyr mentality and inspiring us to move in new, positive directions. Through simple, accessible coaching practices, You Don't Owe Anyone shows us what it looks like to refuse to over-function in the old ways. It invites us to make the same surprising choices that have helped McGraw and her clients move past perfectionism, empowering us to quiet our fears and heal our hearts.

Caroline Garnet McGraw

You Don't Owe Anyone

True beauty comes from within.It’s about being kind to others and not only thinking about yourself.

Inner Beauty > Outer Beauty 

Belle inspires us to learn something new everyday. We dont have to be in school to study and learn, we’ll always be curious, and we’ll always be reading.

Never Stop Learning

Whether it’s an enchanted rose, a mirror that can show you whatever you ask it to, or even the act of falling in love, magic is out there and it’s pretty great 👍

Believe in Magic 

A Chipped Cup Can be Better Than a Perfect One 

The Beast looks intimidating and scary, but once Belle takes the time to get to know him, it’s clear that his rough exterior is just a facade.He’s actually really kind and gentle and just needed someone to give him a chance to show it.

Look Beyond What You S👀

Ultimately love wins the day.

Love is Stronger Than Hate

Sometimes all you need to feel better is a warm cup of tea (a heart-to-heart with Mrs. Potts doesn’t hurt either.)

Tea Heals All 

11 Life Lessons from Beauty and the Beast

Find 100+ Facts about Love & Relationships - Curated from trusted sources like  Books, Podcasts & Articles - Genuine Insights from like-minded Users like You!

The Family Table - Well Guides

Every Conversation Counts

The 4 Habits of All Successful Relationships

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Some psychological facts about love:

You Don't Owe Anyone

11 Life Lessons from Beauty and the Beast

Comfort and growth come from different people

The Fountainhead

Vincent Harinam on manhood

It's time to
Read like a Pro.

The Family Table - Well Guides

Every Conversation Counts

The 4 Habits of All Successful Relationships

5 Ways You Can Be an Everyday Hero

Some psychological facts about love:

You Don't Owe Anyone

11 Life Lessons from Beauty and the Beast

Comfort and growth come from different people

The Fountainhead

Vincent Harinam on manhood

It's time to Read like a Pro.

It's time to
Read like a Pro.