Family Counseling: Make The Time For Family Memories

Life always moves faster than we think it does. One day you’re watching your baby take their first steps, then in the blink of an eye they’re in a cap and gown closing the last chapter of their childhood. It might seem like yesterday when your parents were helping you move into your first apartment, but now you’re the one who has to help them because they just don’t have the strength for it anymore. When you finally take a moment to look around, though, we all say the same thing.

“Why didn’t I slow down to enjoy the time we had?”

There’s an answer to that question, but it’s an answer most of us don’t like very much. It’s because when you’re waist-deep in life, tomorrow always seems a long way off. Most of us are too focused on what we’re doing right now to worry about making memories. We’re so focused on putting in one more shift, getting that big promotion, finishing this project, making this grade, that we don’t notice where our time and effort is really going.

That’s the first thing you need to change if you want to make memories with your family.

There’s No Such Thing As Free Time: You Have To Make Time For What You Want

How many times has the new year come around, and you’ve told yourself that this year is when you’re going to get in shape? You’re going to start going to the gym, you’re going to eat better, and you’re going to stick with your routine until you’re satisfied. At first you do. You get up early, you work out, you eat right… but you begin to crave that old life. You want to sleep in again. You want to spend your evenings on the couch watching TV instead of going for a jog. You want to eat cheeseburgers instead of salads. You want to return to your comfort zone.

This is the same process we go through whenever we make life changes, according to Cracked’s 5 Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Own Life (Without Knowing It). Changing our habits can be hard, because it means we have a whole new way of living to get used to. With that said, if you’ve budgeted your time, your effort, and your energy in one way, but it isn’t getting the results you want, then it’s up to you to change it.

Focusing on your family means you may have to put some other things to the side. You may have less time for work, for personal projects, or just for alone time. But if what you want is to make memories together, then you have to set aside the time to do that. Which means you have to stop spending that time doing something else.

For more advice on how to make more time for your family or for more information about family counseling, simply contact us today!