Post written by Sherri Kruger. Follow me on Twitter.
Mission statements are great but they can be cumbersome to write, remember and share, especially with the little ones.
One thing my husband and I have started using is a mind map to create a picture of what we want our family to be like. It’s nothing fancy, it’s not even pretty but it works for us. We can easily add to it as new ideas pop up and it’s fairly easy to take things out as they change and become less relevant for our family.
The map towards your ideal family all starts with the question: “what do we want our family to be?”
With your family name in the center start branching out, adding attributes that you would like to see in your family. What do you want to be known for? What would you like people to say about your family? What are the foundations or values that you want to be prominent in your family? Start adding all of these to your family map.
There are plenty of free mind mapping software packages, the one I’ve used in the past and quite like is called x-mind. Of course you don’t have to do this online at all you can use a white board, a scrapbook or a plain sheet of paper. The point is to get it down and open the lines of communication between all family members.
Here’s an example of what a map for the Smith family might look like.
As the year is rapidly coming to an end, this might be a great way to start the new year off on the right foot as a family.
Have fun with it and see where this little exercise can lead your family.
Does your family have a mission statement? Have you done a mind map for your family before? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
I have yet to get into the mind mapping technique, but you make it look easy and fun here! And what a great way to use it! I am such a visual person, it really pulls me in and makes me know a little about your family. Kinda like a business card or an about me page, but for your family! Well, not YOUR family, the Smith family, lol!
Bernice
http://livingthebalancedlife.com/2010/the-fine-art-of-napping/
I love mind maps, but the trouble is you may find that your ideas aren’t quite the same as your partners… We’ve tried creating pin boards with pictures of our aims in the past but I found that it just identified that our aims/dreams are different. We try to work together to keep the family unit together but exercises like this can also be divisive…
I’m so excited for our family to sit down for this exercise this week. I’m getting the girls (6 & 3) involved as well. Looking forward to 2011!
We did this tonight as part of our family night (see my blog post for a picture). It was a lot of fun, and really helped us realize what matters most to us, and what doesn’t matter. We realized that some things we have been choosing to spend our time with have been pointless and a waste of time.