Happy, Healthy, and In Harmony
“You don't get harmony when everyone sings the same note.” -Doug Floyd.
The quote above is one of my favorites and it applies to families as well as music. When we appreciate each other’s unique strengths, perspectives, talents, and leadership styles and harness them together for the greater good, we achieve harmony within a family (or any group or team) while working together for a common purpose.
Being aligned on a common purpose is an important milestone for the family to achieve. It’s not as difficult as some would think. When looking for things to agree on most people start specific and very detailed. They typically have a difficult time agreeing on anything. However, in my experience I know achieving a common purpose within a family is doable (and a fun process!). The important factor to remember is to ZOOM OUT.
Below are 3 key ingredients for creating a happy, healthy family in harmony.
First, you want to nurture a culture within the family of good communication that includes openness, listening, acceptance, inquiry, and empathy. An environment where everyone feels welcome and heard.
Side note: when there is good communication there are healthy relationships and with healthy relationships creates happiness. Good communication is essential!
The second ingredient is having willing family members who share ideas about what’s important to them individually and to the collective family. This process may even extend to what mattered to past family members as part of the family legacy.
And third, it is very helpful to have a qualified facilitator to guide the family in important discussions that lead to the common threads in the ideas and thoughts shared around the table. The facilitator will remind them to ZOOM OUT to find the family’s common purpose… because it is there!
‘In Harmony’ is about being aligned on the family’s common purpose and working together using unique abilities within the family to focus on achieving it. It’s a rewarding process. Sometimes all that is needed is a gentle reminder through a facilitated discussion.
