Two things were truly amazing to me about this experience. One was, at the same time, I was reading "The Influencer," authored by most notably David Maxfield. In it, he discussed the importance of narratives or other strategies to help people truly desire to create a behavior change. He shared, "Effective stories and other vicarious experiences overcome (a disconnection) flaw ... Very often people become far less willing to believe what you have to say the moment they realize that your goal is to convince them of something" which, quite naturally, is precisely what you're trying to achieve through verbal persuasion.

The second amazing thing was how each child got behind this goofy SuperVisor concept — in their own way to be sure, but participate they did. Giving authority to our teenager turned out to be an overall positive experience; the younger ones felt more responsibility and therefore confidence; and mother got a needed break from tidying up after everyone, highly applicable since back in 1993 she stipulated that this was something she would no longer do.

Perhaps there is something in your family system that needs a bit of tweaking. Rather than sit down to a lengthy (i.e. boring) group discussion, consider shaking it up with a bit of fun. Simply look around the house for something totally annoying to do the mundane with a bit of zest. Be silly, be off the wall, be your inner fun woman/wife/mother. And you might just get a visit from the SuperVisor (hopefully toting a cheesecake. ...)

LIFETip: Think for 2 minutes one way you can make a FUN change in a family system; enlist the help of those around you!

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E-mail: info@LIFEChangeProgram.com