If your family moved out tomorrow, would you know why?
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not suggesting something like that WILL happen, simply posing the question that if it DID happen, would you understand the reasons behind it?
Let me explain.
It’s usually pretty easy to tell if we’re “winning” at work. Sales numbers, customer retention, even team morale are relatively easy to track, measure and optimize.
But what about our home and family life? How do we know if we’re “winning” there?
A common pain point for high-achievers is that we can tell we’re NOT winning at home, but quite put a finger on the reason why.
Let me suggest a solution in the form of three metrics to measure how we’re doing at home and three ways to improve the score.
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METRIC 1: TIME
Let’s be honest: if you’re “killing it” at work, chances are you’re putting in a LOT of time to make that happen.
Whether it’s sales calls or team meetings, budget reports or white papers, catching up on e-mails or even taking company retreats, winning at work nearly always requires a major investment of time.
Of course, relationships are the same way.
Here’s the thing: you know this already, right? You know that whether you’re trying to build your company or strengthen your family, time is the mortar that binds the bricks together.
That means the first stop on your “family comeback tour” should probably be your calendar.
Choosing to shift some hours away from work and devote them to family instead is a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and certainly time-bound goal that will actually make a difference in your family dynamic.
So don’t wait! Do it. Schedule it today.
If you want to level up at home, prioritize the time.
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METRIC 2: ATTENTION
Let me make a confession: I get bored easily.
I know that’s not abnormal in the hyper-stimulated environment of our always-connected world, but I need to own it, because it matters.
You see, for many people, even though company life may be stressful or exhausting at times, at least it’s rarely boring. There may be fires to put out or problems to fix, but at least they keep us occupied.
Plus, since many successful business people are “achiever-type” personalities, the combination of high-stakes and high-activity means they actually thrive in those environments.
But that’s sometimes harder to say with family, isn’t it?
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not at all suggesting that “family is boring” in some sort of one-size-fits-all way. I’m simply pointing out that achievers who do well in fast-paced, pressure-cooker environments sometimes find the everyday pace of home life to be less-than-engaging.
But we MUST engage.
If you’re physically present but not actually there, that’s not a win. In fact, it might even be worse than not even being there at all.
The key is to take the time you’re choosing to invest in PROXIMITY and make sure it includes INTERACTION.
Just like a person at the office who plays “Candy Crush” at their desk all day, you will never make much progress at home if you’re tuned out.
So tune in! Show up. Be fully present.
If you want your “family score” to climb, give them the attention they crave.
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METRIC 3: RESOURCES
If you own or manage a business (or even just work hard in one), you know your budget determines your growth.
Want to expand into a new market, launch a new product, or grow an area of the company? Fund it!
The same is true when it comes to our home life.
Now, let me be clear. I am NOT saying you can just “throw money” at your family and expect everything to be all right. You have to devote the time and attention as well.
But, if you’re investing your time and engaging your attention but you’re holding back on being generous, what message does that send?
It says, “You’re worth my time…but not my money.”
Certainly you want to make wise choices with your family finances just like you want to be smart about your company budget, but consider this:
You can always earn more money later, but the family experiences that money can buy right now may never be available again.
So buy the thing! Take the trip. Say “yes” to the whatever.
If you want to win with your family, budget for bigger investments.
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Now, I know that for many people, family life is hard. Really hard.
I know there are all sorts of stories, all types of histories, and all kinds of factors that play in to the dynamics of our homes, so it’s certainly not my intention to suggest that if you just pour in more Time, Attention and Resources that you’ll magically make everything better right away.
But it can help.
Just like growing a successful company, cultivating a healthy family requires being willing to “play the long game” and accept that some results may take months or even years to show up.
But they’ll come.
If you’re willing to put in the Time, Attention and Resources now, I believe you’ll receive the reward of peace, harmony and legacy later.
And your family will be all the better for it.
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Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
#family #business #entrepreneurship #growth #personaldevelopment #relationships #priorities #truesuccess #businessgrowth #homelife #investment
