Simple Life Lessons on Family from John C. Maxwell’s ‘Make Today Count’.
A relationship cannot survive forever on leftovers. It needs to be fed continually or it will eventually starve. -John C. Maxwell
‘Make Today Count’ is a book that has transformed my life. John C. Maxwell gave 12 critical daily practices to direct us toward a more successful and fulfilling life. I’ve already shared lessons from three of them (Attitude, Priorities, and Health). Now, I’m excited to talk about key lessons from another daily practice: Family.
Family is the foundation of our lives, providing love, support, and a sense of belonging. However, sometimes we get so busy with our daily lives that we forget that success isn’t just about accolades and achievements; it’s about being cherished and respected by those we love and hold dear.
Success means having those closest to me love and respect me the most. _ John C. Maxwell
The Value of Family Appreciation
The applause from others is not as important as the one from family. Being respected by others doesn’t mean much if our family doesn’t value us. External respect means little without the respect of our loved ones. Therefore, it’s crucial to make caring for and communicating with your family a top priority.
Building a Strong Family Foundation
Just like plants need water to grow, our relationships need our time and care. A happy family life doesn’t just happen; it takes work and dedication. People who ignore their family for fame or money might end up feeling like they missed out on what’s truly valuable. Being famous, having a high position, pursuing our goals, or money should not hurt our relationship with our family. A relationship cannot survive forever on leftovers. It needs to be fed continually or it eventually starve.
To truly succeed in the area of family, after prioritizing family, one must define what their family represents and stands for. John C. Maxwell emphasized what his family stands for, and these principles resonate deeply with me, so I decided to adopt them into my family. These principles are:
Commitment to God: They put God first, neglecting this will mean nothing else is of value.
Continual growth: They will continue learning and becoming until they reach their full potential and make sure their children reach theirs too, being able to look back at life knowing they lived it to the fullest.
Common experiences: They will share common experiences. Things experienced together are not forgotten. They will try to create as many positive experiences as possible, while they weather and go through negative ones together. It could be family trips, family traditions on birthdays, holidays, etc.
Confidence in God, self, and people: They will have confidence in God, in themselves, and always trust people until they prove otherwise.
Contributions to life: They will make sure they leave the world a better place than they met it. Not living for only themselves and their families.
Strategies for a Flourishing Family Life
Marriage isn’t easy, family isn’t easy, life isn’t easy, expect problems, stay committed and develop a strategy to overcome and go through rough times. — John C. Maxwell
Life can be tough, and so can family life. It’s smart to expect problems, but we should also have plans to deal with them. This could mean having family meetings, systems, or rules that help us resolve issues and understand each other better.
Rules, Strategies, and Systems for a Healthy Family Life
Make sure your systems, strategies, or rules promote better understanding, positive change, and growing relationships.
Sharing life’s new and exciting moments with your family first preserves the enthusiasm and ensures that your loved ones are privy to your joys before anyone else.
Here are some tips to help make your family life strong and stable:
Prioritize Family in Your Schedule: Protect family time by setting clear boundaries around how you spend your time. If you don’t create boundaries for how you spend your time, your family will always get the leftovers.
Family time should be family time, no feeling of spending time on work and work time should be work time, no feeling of spending time with family. You should be able to decide with your family and make sure you protect the time for each activity.
Create and Maintain Family Traditions: What makes families happy isn’t only receiving things, it is doing things together. Engage in activities that foster happiness and unity, such as celebrating birthdays, holidays, and milestones together.
Traditions give your Family a shared history and a strong sense of identity. Give thought to how you want to spend holidays, mark milestones, celebrate birthdays, and celebrate rites of passage in your family. Give traditions meaning and make them your own.
Find Ways to Spend Time Together: Balance both quantity and quality time with your family, catering to special occasions, needs, and fun.
Nurture Your Marriage: The health of your marriage influences the entire household; it’s the first relationship your children learn from.
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother— Former Notre Dame President Theodore Heusburgh
No marriage is easy. The most successful marriages are ones that can go from crisis to crisis with a growth in commitment. Commitment is what carries you through.
People who use their feelings as a barometer for the health of their relationship and marriage are destined for break up. Marriage requires discipline and commitment.
Express Appreciation: Recognition and gratitude are universal desires; cherish and appreciate your family for who they are. Get to know your family and love and appreciate them, simply because they are yours.
Resolve Conflicts Quickly: A family’s response to problems will either promote bonding or be destructive. Resolve conflicts quickly and effectively and you will bring healing.
In the end, what we decide about our family is really important. By putting our family first, living by our values, and solving problems together, we make life better.
Family discipline means making our loved ones a priority, keeping family traditions, having a strong marriage, spending time together, fixing problems, and showing love. If we stick to these ideas, we can have the healthiest and happiest family life possible.
Family isn’t just one important thing in our lives; it’s everything. It’s where we get the strength to face the world, learn important values, and enjoy life’s best moments. By making family the most important thing, we make sure we leave a legacy of love, respect, and togetherness.
If you want to make each day a MASTERPIECE and your life successful, I highly recommend you read Make Today Count by John C. Maxwell.
I will be sharing more from those 12 daily practices next Monday. Follow and subscribe so you don’t miss when I do.
