Hello again,
Dr. Davis here. We hope you are well in reading this. We want to acknowledge each and every one of you who is a caregiver, either near or far from your loved one. If you have to deal with family, it’s not always so rosy. Let’s look at something I see a lot: family disagreements.
Family often means conflict. People don’t want to have the necessary conversations to clear up conflict, so they either avoid it or they clam up and don’t say anything, causing the conflict to stay there under the surface. So, we want to share something with you that is important to know and to keep in mind if you are spending time with your family. It can be for a special occasion, or a visit just to stay in touch. It can be for any reason.
Relationships can be painful. We wish they would be better, different, and that the other person we see as a stubborn or difficult person would change.
Relationships rarely improve when people try to change each other. Rather, we find happiness by focusing on each others’ positive attributes.
Expressing gratitude and appreciation for these qualities creates a loving, accepting atmosphere for everyone. I know this can be hard. If you’ve come to resent the difficult person, it’s not easy to think of anything but how angry they can make you feel, how frustrated.
I’d like you to try something different for the next week, or even over the weekend.
Think about how you might share your gratitude for your loved one (yes, that difficult person) with them. Try your best to think of a few positive things this
person has ever done, involving you or not. Make a mental list. OK, maybe it’s a short list for some folks.
Keep them in mind, and while you’re with your family, tell them. If you’re not with the difficult people, tell them in an email, text or phone call. You can keep it short.
You don’t need to go on and on or explain anything. Just express gratitude.
Pretty simple, right?
I’d like you to share with me how it went and if you felt anything had improved, even temporarily from this effort
you made. It can do a lot, and I hope you’ll give it a try. That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
Sincerely, Dr. Mikol
We can help you resolve your family conflicts. Schedule your complimentary strategy session now by clicking here to learn how to decrease the chaos and increase the peace.
P.S. Please send us your comments! I’d love to hear from you. Just hit reply.
