The outcome of this set of activities is to piece together the top five things you value under six categories that combine to make up family life. The six categories are broad enough to make this activity work for your situation. The commitment for this activity to be of most use is a regular, respectful, truthful and open minded conversation. Set a regular time to stop, relax and chat. Approaching this positively will enable the best outcome of creating a blueprint foundation, but also bring clarity and closeness to your relationship. Be prepared to talk about everything and be open about your feelings. The more transparent you are now, the more relevant and beneficial the final blueprint will be for your family.
How the activity works:
1. Take a notebook and label a page with each relevant category.
2. Write down seperately 5 or more things that are of most value to you under that topic.
3. Reveal your answers to eachother.
4. If some of your responses are the same that’s awesome! They will form the final list of 5 values.
5. Spend some time talking about the other answers that don’t match. Share why and how much you value each point.
6. The aim of the conversation is to have a final list of 5 points that you both agree on to be your priority for now.
To note: Other items on the list that don’t make it to the top 5 or cannot be agreed upon, need to first and foremost respected and then kept in mind. These values will become a piece of the blue print later on. The top five priorities listed here for each theme will feed into an operational plan that looks at the short term ( 1 – 3 years). It is important at this stage to limit the list as only so much can be achieved successfully in a short space of time.
One last thing to note is, some topics may be easier that others to discuss. If the need arises dont’ be afraid to stop the conversation and start again another time, this will make the conversation more worth while and fruitful. You may be surprised by what you find easy or hard to discuss – either way it will be worth it. Stay focused on the outcome and the reasons why you started this activity.
So lets go…
Category One is:
Family Values – What are the core things you value? What do you want your family to be like behaviour wise?
Homes of Victory 