Category: Communication

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For the WOMEN that say “MY MAN IS MY ROCK”…

For the WOMEN that say “MY MAN IS MY ROCK”…

Maybe you don’t need this reminder… but in case you do… I’m here to serve this one up today because I’m being reminded of it myself in my own marriage.

Men who are labeled “ROCKS” are oftentimes given such an honorable title because of one or more of these things:

a masculine sense of stability, security, strength in presence and conviction, self-control, LOGIC over EMOTION, a protective nature,
demanding respect that has been earned.
And on and on.

Yet… so often and so humanly so… us women want that same ROCK OF A MAN to be “more EMOTIONAL”, “more OPEN and VULNERABLE”… “better in tune with the kids”, “more intuitive with what I need”, “better able to know ______ without me having to tell him”, “more calm”, “more fun”, and on and on.

This creates CONFUSION for men!!

Now, wait a second… I’m not letting men off the hook here with practicing tapping in their “softer side”… or exploring their own vulnerability and openness more… because indeed this WILL enhance your love relationship at home NO DOUBT.

What I’m saying is… WOMEN… DON’T FORGET the rock foundation from which your man is operating from in those moments he’s NOT showing up, or able to show up, for you the way you really need and want him to.

Help him become softer when YOU need him to be… through responding to him as the ROCK he is… rather than the SOFTER guy you may want at that moment, but that is not your partner’s baseline spirit.

ROCKS are rocks because they are, they do, and they provide what ultimately feels SOLID and UNSHAKEABLE.

So allow your ROCK of a man the opportunity to soften so that you don’t turn him into a turtle before he gets the chance to.

NEED HELP IN YOUR OWN LOVE RELATIONSHIP OR MARRIAGE… but needing a DIFFERENT APPROACH with the accountability that gets you the big results you want and need?

I help busy couples ignite connection, intimacy & joy even when they feel they don’t have the time, energy or desire so they can stop living like roommates within 90 days without further marriage counseling or therapy that doesn’t work. 

Need help transforming your relationship with the Love Partner you already have?

I can help. Let’s talk!

Apply for your FREE N0-OBLIGATION 20-minute Certified Relationship/Marriage Coaching Session with me!

www.JenniferBlankl.com/lets-connect

www.JenniferBlankl.com

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To Your Loving Relationships,

Jennifer Blankl
Certified Relationship & Marriage Coach

Certified Life Coach 

Certified Strategic Interventionist 

“Jennifer helps busy professionals & parents ignite connection, excitement, intimacy & fun in their relationships so they can feel more respected, understood, and appreciated, all without further exhausting themselves. All within 90 days, without therapy.”

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“I HATE When She Talks About Her Feelings!”

“I HATE when she talks about her feelings!”

This is what my client John (not his real name) yelled out in the middle of his marriage coaching session with his wife.

I was encouraging his wife Jane (not her real name) to try expressing her hurt emotions using “I feel” statements versus the more triggering “YOU” statements in effort to breakthrough a conflict they had been carrying on for about a week.

So I asked Jane to express her feelings and emotions around this conflict using  “I feel” statements rather than the “you” statements she had been using. Jane eagerly and quickly declared “I feel like you (to John) don’t care about us as much as your work!”… “I feel like you put work in front of us.”… “I feel like you don’t give a shit about how I feel!”…

AHA!  There it was. As clear as day.

Of course John “HATES when Jane talks about her “feelings”!…    He feels blamed and criticized for her hurt and pain each and every time she expresses how she feels.

Here, Jane is really using “you” statements that are disguised as “I” statements. Because she’s still making statements that are critical and/or blaming of John.

I then asked Jane to dive deeper in to what SHE was feeling and experiencing internally, rather than what she believed HE was feeling or experiencing.

Jane quieted… and took what felt like 30 seconds. I could see her thoughtfully processing her answer. Finally she said,

“When you talk to me in that tone in front of our daughters… I feel like… a failure.” 

Oh my gosh. You should have seen John’s face.

His eyes and face immediately softened. He put his hand on his wife’s face, looked in her eyes, kissed her, and reassured her about how much she means to him. All while saying…

“I had NO IDEA you felt like a failure when I did this!”.

That feeling John got from hearing Jane’s “I feel” expression, made him jump off the couch and onto the woman he loves… because in that moment he got to see her truth. He was able to feel her vulnerability and her openness to him. He felt a surge of empathy and compassion for her because he wasn’t preoccupied with defending himself. He was able to hear what she was truly feeling and experiencing mentally and emotionally, outside of any blame or criticism toward him. That allowed him to take action from the compassion he could then feel for her, and help her feel better fast.

And there’s the huge difference. “I feel” statements, when used properly, are powerful expressions that lead to deeper understanding, more compassion, and more empathy for each other. That feels way better. Yes, it takes practice. Yes, it will always be tempting to use “you” statements in the heat of our inevitable battles. But the better we can get at expressing our own internal feelings (sadness, anger, fear, guilt, etc), the more we expand our opportunity to grow individually and as a couple and experience deeper connection and understanding.

I have extensively studied and taught this communication strategy in my private sessions with my clients as well as in my workshops and trainings. I highly respect and study Marshall B. Rosenberg’s work. I recommend his book “Nonviolent Communication” as a resource that will transform the way you communicate with your self and others.

To Your Extraordinary Relationships, 

Jennifer Blankl

Certified Relationship & Marriage Coach
Certified Divorce Preventionist

“I HELP busy professionals & parents reignite the connection, excitement, intimacy & fun in their love relationship so they can feel more emotionally fulfilled, understood, appreciated, & respected.”  

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OTHER READINGS:
The Most Effective Way to Track the True Level of Joy and Fulfillment in ANY Relationship

Why Many Leave the Partner They Truly Love

The Energy that’s creating either CONNECTION or CONFLICT in your Love Relationship

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THE ENERGY that’s either creating CONNECTION or CONFLICT in your Love Relationship

Are you a strong, go-getter, DO-DO-DO kind of gal?   Are you the kind of woman that loves to get things done, have success and WIN at life and relationships?

If so, this is your beautiful and valuable masculine energy that is at play in you. All women and men possess both masculine and feminine energy to varying degrees. However, when a man or a woman is not aligned with their own core masculine or feminine energy, that results in many painful consequences. It can affect their love relationship or marriage, their family dynamics, their work and business relationships, and their friendships.

Masculine energy is all about being rooted, immovable, knowing what you want, knowing who you are, being focused on the outcome and getting things DONE. Overcoming obstacles is satisfying. Masculine energy is very purpose-driven. There needs to be an end or else you feel adrift. This is why your man may want to “fix” your problems and frustrations when you, as the woman, are just trying to express and feel heard and understood.

The mature masculine man’s purpose is to serve, protect and provide service to others. He’s selfless with values of honor, integrity and freedom. On the flipside, the Immature Masculine Man is about serving his own ego and his own needs first. If you’re lucky enough to have a mature masculine man, then it’s even more crucial for a woman who possesses a lot of strong masculine energy to be able to transition in to her own feminine energy for him. Masculine energy plus masculine energy leads to a fight. So let your man be in his masculine by knowing when to be in your feminine for you and him.

In contrast, Feminine energy is all about OPENNESS, vulnerability, being able to let go and fully release… so that you can fully receive. The mature masculine man needs to feel this openness and ability to receive from his partner to feel he is serving her and providing for her the way a masculine man must in order to be truly purposeful and useful – the way he needs to feel. Feminine energy has nothing to do with how you look… it’s all about your ENERGY… the feeling and the vibe you send out to the world and those you love. Feminine energy is about taking it all in… and not running. It’s about trusting. The opposite of feminine energy is tight, closed off, protected, guarded, withdrawn, controlling and pushing, punishing, and holding back.

I know we all can think of many examples in a current or past love relationship where our partner triggered us, only to find ourselves withdrawing our love, holding on to our anger and choosing to stay mad… all in effort to make the other person pay. We do this to meet our human need for significance, and perhaps even certainty, but only at a short-term, lower level. The raw truth is, however, protecting yourself by abandoning your feminine energy has many negative consequences for you, your partner, and your relationship.

I know this territory all too well personally. I’m a passionate driver, doer, mover and shaker. It serves me well in my work, in my ability to build a successful career as well as at home: getting things done around the house, hustling my boys from here to there, running a household alongside my Relationship Coaching Business. However, this energy has previously hijacked my own dynamic with my husband without me even knowing it. At the time when our marriage was suffering, I had no idea how the masculine and feminine energies truly worked. I didn’t know that me being in my masculine forced my husband OUT of his… which wreaked so much havoc on both of us.

In order to avoid verbal or even physical violence, a man has to move more into his feminine energy… and at its core… this is all in effort to protect their partner.

Doesn’t this make sense? If we strong women don’t learn how to effectively and authentically transition from our awesome masculine energy power into our more open, trusting, vulnerable feminine… then we force our men out of that masculine energy that we crave and need from them.

So with all this said, you may be wondering “Well how the heck do I do that, Jen?!” Here are some wonderful proven strategies that I’ve used in my own transformation as well as with my clients.

STRATEGIES:

  1. THE “FEMININE ASK”:

This is a way we can communicate with our men that gives them an invitation with 2 possible answers: YES or NO. Your man needs to feel like he has a CHOICE. The mature masculine man does not want to be told what to do. He needs to feel that it’s an invitation; a calling to come to your rescue. At it’s core, this choice allows the masculine man to feel purposeful and useful because it’s HIS choice, he’s leading, and he’s coming to your rescue.

 

  1. STOP OFFERING UNSOLICITED HELP TO THE MEN AND BOYS IN YOUR LIFE!:

Starting in childhood, males need to know they can do stuff on their own. They need to know they’re capable of getting it done and overcoming obstacles… on their own. Remember, this is all part of the purposefulness, usefulness they need to feel.

There’s a bit of a double bind here, since women, generally speaking, get joy and fulfillment from nurturing others. Women mostly have good intention here, because we feel like we’re “helping”, “nurturing” and “loving” our men and boys by showing interest and offering our help.

But in the man’s world, an unsolicited offering of help, especially from a woman, sends the message “She thinks I can’t do this on my own”, “She thinks I’m screwing this up”, or “She thinks her way is better.” So even though we have all this good intention in offering the help, it robs our men of the sense that they’re fully capable and in control of getting it done successfully, their way.

  1. MAKE A CONSCIOUS MINDSET AND EMOTIONAL TRANSITION

from work mode to partner mode. Be aware that you need to transition and create your own rituals to ensure you do so. Here are some examples:

  • Sit in your car for a few minutes before entering the house, listen to some of your favorite, uplifting tunes and choose to switch gears.
  • Take a few minutes of alone time from your partner and or family to transition. Let them know what you’re doing and why you need this time! Tell them exactly how much time you’ll need so they can feel certainty around when they get you!
  • Change your clothes! – Put on something that is YOU, yet feminine. Get rid of the frumpy, unflattering sweats you’re attached to! Again, this isn’t about how you LOOK, but how you will FEEL by changing your clothes.
  • Take a bath – relax and soothe yourself all while being vulnerably nude.

  1. 10-SECOND RULE:

Women generally have a need to fill pauses or silences in conversation because it helps us feel like we’re connecting by filling the silence. However, a masculine man can feel cut off by his woman if he pauses and she fills the space. The tricky thing is, women, in general, don’t experience being interrupted the same as men. Ladies, I’m sure you can recall how a lunch or a happy hour with your girlfriends is often filled with overlapping talk. This is usually not about taking the floor or interrupting, but truly about connecting and nurturing the conversation by providing MORE. Men tend to take more time to process their thoughts and prepare for what they will say next so this can feel like an interruption coming from either a woman or a man.

This tool can help remind us to stay present for our partner, let him finish his thoughts and expressions by waiting a full 10 seconds when there is a pause before jumping in again. This will NOT feel natural at first. Pausing this way can feel like an eternity. But trust me, with practice, you will feel your conversations transform and your man will express more.

 

What are your own resistances to exploring your own masculine or feminine energy more?

What are your fears or belief systems that hold you back from nurturing your core energy at a deeper level?

TAKE THE TEST HERE to discover your dominant energy.

 

To Your Loving Relationships,

Jennifer Blankl

Certified Relationship Coach & Divorce Preventionist  /  Certified Strategic Interventionist 
 
“I HELP busy professionals & parents reignite the connection, excitement, intimacy & fun in their love relationship so that they can feel more emotionally fulfilled, understood, appreciated, & respected.”  

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THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY to TRACK THE TRUE LEVEL OF JOY & FULFILLMENT IN ANY RELATIONSHIP!!

What would life be like if you truly felt SEEN and UNDERSTOOD by your partner?

What if you could resolve those recurring conflicts in your personal or love relationship once and for all so you get on with enjoying yourself more and those you care about and love?

What if you could understand what truly motivates you to … or prevents you from… taking certain actions in your life that could meet your needs at a higher level?

Let me give you the GOLDMINE OF TRUTH HERE when it comes to what your deepest, truest driving forces are in your life and in all of your relationships…

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO:    THE 6 UNIVERSAL HUMAN NEEDS

Understanding the 6 human needs and which needs we, and those we love, value most, is life’s most important strategy.

When we get clear on what our own needs are and get better at meeting our needs at a higher level, or in a positive way that is good for our overall well-being… then we experience deeper fulfillment and joy inside of ourselves.

IN RELATIONSHIP TO OTHERS:

The 6 Human Needs are the most effective way to track the level of happiness and fulfillment in any human relationship. When you understand which of the needs are most important to a person, and how that person satisfies their most important needs, you understand what brings them pleasure or pain. You also understand what’s truly driving that person and motivating them to take the actions they take, and even feel the feelings they feel.

Usually, for each person, two of these needs prevail over all the others. A person’s top 2 needs are experienced so intensely that the person will do almost anything to satisfy those needs. When you identify the two most important needs, you are discovering a person’s driving motivation, what gives meaning and motive to a person’s life… their life blueprint!

 In marriage or any committed intimate relationship, each person must be aware of the other person’s needs in order to know what’s going on. Not knowing a partner’s needs inevitably leads to frustration and disappointment since even though a person may feel that he/she is giving everything, they are not giving what the other person really needs, in the way that the other person needs it. The challenge is that people’s deepest needs are often extremely specific and can be tricky to discern – it’s like a “secret button.” If spouses never find each other’s secret button, the relationship will feel difficult, and even impossible. If couples find the secret button and figure out how to give each other what each truly needs at the highest level, they will be able to generate levels of trust, happiness and love more profound than they ever thought possible.

The 6 Human Needs was developed by Tony Robbins, the father of the coaching industry, and Cloe Madanes, a world reknowned psychologist and psychotherapist, who both trained and certified me as a Life & Relationship Coach, Marriage Educator and Divorce Preventionist. I’m grateful to have learned this tool in a critical moment of my own marriage.

HERE’S MY STORY…

When my husband lost an 11 year job through no fault of his own when I was pregnant with our first son, I had no clue what was happening to him as a person and as a “mature masculine man”, because I didn’t understand his needs, nor my own. So I blamed him. I blamed him for the way he was showing up for me, the way I felt he wasn’t treating me right or connecting with me the way I needed. Instead of showing up with love and support when he was already down, I showed up with resistance, defensiveness, even contempt. I failed miserably to understand how his most valued needs were attached to his significance, success and certainty at work, while my most valued needs revolve around growth and love & connection. Because his top needs were no longer being due to his job loss, he wasn’t able to give me love and connection the way I needed it, because, ironically, it’s our human need to meet our most valued needs first before we can address the less valued needs.

Becoming an expert in the 6 human needs transformed me, the way I show up for my husband, the way I think and feel about him, the way I react to him, and the choices I make regarding how I show up for him. This, in turn, allowed him to be the man and partner I needed and wanted, even through the immense pain and challenges he was facing at the time.

I’m beyond grateful for having learned this tool and I teach it with determination and passion to my private individual and couple clients as well as in my workshops and company trainings in hopes that it can help those I serve even if just a small fraction of how it’s helped me!

HERE ARE THE 6 HUMAN NEEDS:

All humans universally share these needs. What makes each and every one of us so unique is that we each value two needs out of the six. Whatever our top two needs are completely and directly determine our thoughts, our feelings, our choices, our ACTIONS… and ultimately our destiny. Your success in any human relationship, including the relationship you have with your SELF… hinges on your ability to discover which needs you and the other values most and what has to happen (your “rules”) to meet those needs. When spouses learn this, they will find the secret button that brings on love and happiness. A marriage never breaks up when the partners are meeting all of their partner’s needs at a high level.

CERTAINTY

Certainty that we can be comfortable – to have pleasure and avoid pain. Comfort, security, safety, stability, feeling grounded, predictability and protection.

UNCERTAINTY/VARIETY

Variety and challenges that exercise our emotional and physical range. Our bodies, our minds, our emotional well-being all require exertion through instability, exercise, suspense, entertainment, and surprise, as well as fear, conflict, and crisis.

SIGNIFICANCE

Every person needs to feel special, important, needed and wanted, admired, that our lives have a special purpose and meaning. Pride, importance, achievement, performance, perfection, evaluation, discipline, standards and competition.

LOVE & CONNECTION

Everyone needs connection with other human beings and everyone strives for and hopes for love. Togetherness, inclusion, passion, unity, warmth, tenderness and romance.

GROWTH

Everything is either growing or dying. Nothing is stagnant. We need to constantly develop and expand ourselves emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.

CONTRIBUTION

We all desire to go beyond our own needs and give to others. Everything in the universe contributes beyond itself or is eliminated.

The first 4 Needs, Certainty, Uncertainty/Variety, Connection/Love and Significance, are essential for human SURVIVAL. They are the fundamental needs of the personality – everyone must feel that they have met them on some level in order to survive. The last two needs, Growth and Contribution, are essential to human FULFILLMENT. They are the needs of the spirit, and not everyone finds a way to satisfy them, although they are necessary for lasting fulfillment.

Because we humans share the same nervous system, everyone experiences the same 6 Human Needs. However, everyone finds different ways of satisfying each of these needs. Also, each of these needs can be met in ways that are positive – increasing the wellbeing of ourselves and others, or negative – decreasing the wellbeing of ourselves and others.

Here are examples of both positive and negative ways a person could meet each of the 6 human needs: The need for Certainty can be met by going to school and obtaining a degree, or by avoiding challenges or risks that lead to our growth. The need for Uncertainty / Variety can be met by reading about different subjects or meeting different kinds of people, or by engaging in high-risk sports or violent behavior. Some ways of satisfying these needs are good for the person’s well-being, good for others and good for society, while other ways decrease or sacrifice well-being for everyone. The need for Connection/Love can be satisfied through good deeds and kindness or by domination of others who are forced to show appreciation. The need for Significance can be met by being the best at something, or by having the biggest problem. Similarly, one can Grow and become a better person… or a more successful criminal. And one can Contribute to the well-being of many… or the downfall of another person.

Understanding our human needs brings empowering clarity to our lives by giving us awareness and choice in how we go about creating more joy & fulfillment in our lives and most valued relationships.

WANT TO DIVE DEEPER…

in to your personal relationship scenario or challenge to better understand your own or your partner’s human needs blueprint?

I INVITE YOU…

to connect with me over video or phone for 20 minutes so you can get immediate relief with a perspective shift that will inspire you to TAKE NEW ACTION with yourself, your partner, and your family by knowing and understanding your human needs blueprint! 

SCHEDULE YOUR NO-OBLIGATION COACHING CONVERSATION WITH ME HERE!

Cheers to Your Extraordinary Relationships,

Jennifer Blankl

Certified Relationship Coach & Divorce Preventionist

Client Experiences & Testimonials

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DON’T EVER DO THIS AGAIN in YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.

Have you ever received a super long text or email from someone who is expressing their deepest opinions, emotions, feelings, and thoughts about you, or your relationship? MAN. I gotta admit… this one is straight up triggering for me!

Since when did we decide as a human race to chop ourselves off from all of the gifts we give and receive when we afford ourselves and others LIVE, HUMAN INTERACTION? How many of us pick up the phone to talk to someone in our world LIVE instead of texting or emailing them? It’s become a nuisance, a pain, a chore-like feeling to get on the phone and have a real, human vulnerable exchange with someone face to face or live voice to live voice.   When we communicate openly and live with someone, we get to feel, see, hear, smell and taste everything…. Their tone of voice… their facial expressions… their body language… ALL OF IT. This is the GIFT! Sure, this requires more of our own TIME (here’s how to get MORE time), energy, focus and attention to have these live interactions with others. But that’s time, energy and attention well spent. Because in those moments of live interaction, we learn the most about ourselves. We learn the most about the other person because we can SEE THEM. We can HEAR THEM. We can FEEL THEIR ENERGY.

The digitized written word has no tone, body language, audible expression, or seeable emotion. The recipient is merely left high and dry. Alone. On their own to interpret 93% of the other person’s communication. Which, in most cases, is interpreted incorrectly… which leads to severe misconceptions, mis-interpretations, a host of unwanted and unintended feelings… and the list goes on. Research proves only 7% of our communication is our words and language. The much heavier and more valuable 93% includes our tone of voice, our very telling body language, and facial expressions.

So truth be told, if you’re not having a live conversation with someone when it comes to something about your relationship, a disagreement or difference of opinion, or anything that is meaningful and requires an exchange… then you are avoiding something. And whatever you’re avoiding comes with a life and relationship-altering consequence. Because you’re robbing yourself and the other person of full, authentic communication. We cannot possibly understand one another through the written word alone. We need the other stuff too… the 93%. That’s what makes the world go round. Not 20 texts in your inbox, or 50 comments on your Facebook post… it’s about REAL, LIVE human interaction. The good stuff. The meat of life.

So love yourself and those in your world better by offering up a bigger dose of living, breathing live conversations with those you care about. Exercise your vulnerability muscle. Put yourself out there with others more often. Sure, it may feel awkward or even difficult… but I assure you the more you connect live with others, the more you reach out, the more time you give to have meaningful, conversations where you gift others with your presence… you’ll be fuelled to do it more often. Because it will feel good. Live human interaction full of presence is the biggest gift we can give to ourselves and others.

Here are 2 STRATEGIES to help you shift your communication habits so you can feel more joy, and more fulfillment in your daily life!:

  1. NEVER text or email about your Relationship! Make this your new rule. Whether it’s your spouse or significant other, your parents, your friends… Anything relationship-related must be done LIVE! No exceptions.
  2. Make shorter phone calls to your family and friends. I know it’s way quicker to text. But try calling and saying “Hey, I’ve only got 3 minutes… but I wanted to call you real quick and say_________________ “. Set it up at the beginning of the call so you don’t have to feel the pressure and discomfort of needing to get off sooner than later.

Remember… it only takes 1 person to transform any relationship! You deserve more joy and fulfillment in your life!

Cheers to your Extraordinary Relationships!

Jennifer Blankl

Certified Relationship, Marriage & Divorce Prevention Coach

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HOW TO GET MORE TIME. For you and your loved ones.

TIME. It’s a man-made concept. It’s quite interesting if you really think about it… time doesn’t exist. Time is merely a concept that we have constructed in our brains.

However, the concept of time… such as “THERE’S NOT ENOUGH TIME”… or “my boys are growing up WAY WAY WAY too fast”, “I don’t have time for that”, “what if I don’t complete this on time” and so on, is the very source of my deepest pain and frustration on a daily basis.

I feel overly, rather obsessively, conscious of how fast my 2 boys are growing up, how time is racing, how the lines in my face remind me I AM getting older, and how I dreadfully FEAR with all of my heart regretting anything I’m doing NOW that I could regret later out of feeling like it took time away from my husband or kids. On a logical level I know it’s a limiting thought habit and to a large degree, bullshit. However, on an emotional level, I can’t seem to shake it. I think about it. I worry about it. Sometimes I obsess over it. Like I’m doing right now while writing this Blog article. I have felt the little stabs in my heart when one of my boys says “Mommy, you’re not even listening to me”… because I’m too busy checking my email and letting my inbox dictate how I’m showing up for my children and my husband. LAME.

YET I have discovered the best anecdote to “not enough time”. The best solution to combat this gnawing feeling is PRESENCE. PRESENCE is the way out of life’s ultimate time crunch. Not an inconsistent, half-assed effort in being present… but a true, intentional, laser-focused commitment to being there for your self, your love partner, your kids, and those you love through giving yourself and others your full presence.

For example… how often are you functioning in “auto-pilot” mode? Do you know how to get out of it and fully shift your focus onto those you love? Do you ever have a tough time fully transitioning from work to home life? Whether it’s to mommy/daddy mode or spouse/lover mode? Do your kids ever call you out for being on your phone while they’re tying to tell you something? Do you feel you’re able to fully experience and absorb the moments that are happening… as they are happening? We all want that… but do we really know how to do this well in this chaotic day in age? We can certainly learn.

So think about it… by being more PRESENT… we EXPAND time. We essentially get more time! By being fully present, or fully in the moment, fully engaged with the other person or people, we make these moments richer, deeper, more meaningful. We get more out of each of life’s special moments and experiences. Being present helps us strengthen our feelings and emotions for those we love by helping us anchor down the good and positive moments… because now we are paying more attention to them.

Being present can help us change our cognitive concept of time. We can transform how much “time” we truly have by using the time that we do have in a much different way. Here are some actions steps you can take to get you on the path to better connection and more time with those you love:

1. PRACTICE MEDITATION
Practice pausing and being present for your SELF first.  It’s the only way you’re going to get good at giving your full and engaged presence to others. I love the free Headspace app for 10 minute meditation sessions. The free portion of this app is an excellent place to begin with several 10 minute meditation sessions. And his Australian accent I do find rather pleasing ;).

Headspace App

2. GIVE YOUR FAMILY PERMISSION TO KEEP YOU ACCOUNTABLE.
Tell your love partner and your kids you want to get better at being fully present for them. Let them see you be vulnerable… and watch the gifts that follow. Empower them by asking them to help you. Kids love this!

Getting your family in on your practice of presence is a wonderful way to teach your children (and your partner) how to hone this skill themselves, as well as help keep you accountable by giving your family permission to help keep you present, in a loving a respectful way of course. Let then hide your phone for a set amount of time. Let them see you put your distractions away for them.

3. ESTABLISH A SCHEDULE OF PRESENCE.
Know when you will end work and shift to mommy / daddy / wife / husband / lover mode. Be intentional about your START and STOP times when it comes to your non-family commitments and your family commitments. Set timers with your partner for regular connection time.

4. HANG A SIGN.
As silly as it sounds, hang a sticky note. Give yourself a visual reminder, a cue, to keep you on track. Put it on your bathroom mirror, or on the dashboard of your car.

Cheers to your extraordinary relationships!

Jennifer Blankl

Certified Relationship Coach & Divorce Preventionist

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