A 75-year study at Harvard University, known as the Grant Study, found that close relationships — more than money, fame, IQ, or genes — are what keep people happy and healthy over a long life. It’s one thing to cultivate close relationships with people who live under our roof or within our community. But staying close to those who live further away is a whole different challenge. Often, we tend to rely on social media to do the heavy lifting, keeping us up-to-date on the lives of our friends and family members. But that can’t be all there is. For our long distance relationships to go the distance, it’s important to actively prioritize and nourish them.
5 Ways to Make Time for Your Spouse
Once you have children, it’s almost as if you forget how to have a real adult conversation. It’s so easy to revert to talking about kid logistics, or kid activities, or kid-anything — but that comes at a cost, to the sense of connection you have with your significant other. For the health of your relationship — and your own well-being — it’s essential to make time for each other, with no kids involved. Read on for a few ideas to get you started…
5 Ways To Make Time For Friends
The Beatles had it right… “All You Need is Love.” But not just the romantic kind. People thrive on friendships and human connection. Strong personal relationships are essential to our health and wellbeing. Yet, many of us are so overwhelmed by the demands of our day-to-day work and personal lives, we neglect to put the effort into our social lives. All too often, Friday night rolls around, and we realize we haven’t made any plans for the weekend. One of the best ways to ensure you connect with others on a regular basis is to create routines and habits that zap planning from the equation.
Making Space For Connections
Often, we feel that our homes are not conducive spaces for socializing or nurturing our relationships. Just think, how many times have you wanted to invite guests over, but the living room was buried under a pile of clutter too time consuming to tackle? Or wanted to sit down and relax with your partner after a long day, but there was nowhere for you to just sit and be without your eye being drawn to a screen or something to clean? The good news is, you don’t have to reorganize your whole home until it looks like a perfectly manicured Pinterest board in order to create a space for connecting. In fact, all you really need is one or two spots dedicated to peaceful retreat. The elements that make up your space can be completely personal — the key is simply that the space be instantly relaxing, functional, and easy to maintain.
How to Eliminate Working Mom Guilt
Ginny loved her work. A vice president of marketing for an ad agency, in many ways her work defined her. Yet, Ginny’s passion for her work made her feel guilty. It took time away from her kids (7, 11 and 13) and often distracted her when they were together. She wondered constantly if she should put her goals and passion on hold, to be a better parent for her kids. This question — to work, or not to work — is emblematic of a struggle many parents face.
It's Never Too Late To Hit Reset With Your Kids
You may have heard that 90% of who we become as adults is the result of what happens in the first seven years of life. It would be a pretty cruel joke of nature, if the greatest impact we have as parents is when we are least experienced. Parenting is one of the most complex jobs in the world and it doesn’t come with any training or an extension number we can dial for “technical” support. We’re all just learning as we go. We’re bound to make mistakes. Luckily, recent science has found that while the early years do matter very much, the later years do too.
Micro-Bursts of Self-Care
We all desire self-care. More importantly, we’ve all come to understand that we need self-care. The physical and psychological benefits of self-nurturance have been scientifically proven, time and time again. It’s no longer a revolutionary concept. But we often struggle to attain and sustain it because, well, life happens, getting in the way of our best laid plans. So what can we do? It’s time to reframe our thinking on self-care.
Rethink Your Exercise Routine
Many people think exercise means 60-90 minutes three times a week, at the gym or in a class. And it can be difficult to break out of that notion; it’s how most of us used to exercise before we had kids. Now, as a parent, you may have adopted an all or nothing mentality: you know it’s impossible to exercise as much as (or in the way) you once did, so you stop altogether. It’s time to rethink your exercise routine. Let’s envision a new approach to fitness.
S.E.L.F. Care (in 20 minutes or less)
The Holidays present a time challenge to everyone, especially parents; not only must we continue to provide and arrange, but we have the added responsibility to create holiday magic for our kids. With an increased workload, it can be all too easy to lose sight of ourselves and our own needs. The catch-22, of course, is that it’s when we have the least amount of time for self care that we require it most. To keep yourself operating at peak capacity this holiday season, check out these quick S.E.L.F. care tips to maintain adequate levels of sleep, exercise, love, and fun.
3 Obstacles to Embracing a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance — we all crave it, yet it seems so incredibly difficult to achieve. It’s easy for us to say “it’s impossible… my job is just too demanding.” And that might be true. In today’s work-place climate, it’s all too easy for work to become a 24/7, all-consuming aspect of our lives. Yet, with very few exceptions, it likely doesn’t need to be this way.