It is that time of year again when we are bombarded with reflection, planning, changing, thinking, … and to be honest, hearing about all the different things that I should be doing makes me feel a little overwhelmed.
As human beings, we are social animals meaning that we get many of the cues about who we want to be and how we should be living our lives from the people around us. We look at the people in our neighborhoods, families, communities, on Instagram and Snapchat, etc. and this influences the way we think and the way we act. This kind of behavior is in our nature. But even though we’re often taught that peer pressure is a bad thing, this is not always the case. Peer pressure can actually be very helpful and beneficial. Especially when we’re surrounded by healthy human beings, positive influences can elevate our behavior in order to stay in line with what the other’s are doing.
My strategy to live more aligned with my values
The issue for me personally, and I think for many of you too, is to identify what’s a healthy influence and what’s an unhealthy influence. I’m offering you my easy, 3-step strategy that helps me become who I want to be and stay aligned with my values. I believe it to be important to pay attention to this every single day to avoid social pressure from all kind of directions to force us into acting certain ways that don’t feel aligned with our personal values.
Here’s what I do and am finding super helpful:
Step 1 – I wrote a list of my values and intentions for 2023.
Step 2 – Every single day, I set intentions on how I want to live my life that day.
Step 3 – Every single day, I reflect on who I was that day. Who did I want to be and was I able to achieve that?
I even share this last step with my kids, helping them reflect on their behavior and values too!
I really hope this idea of knowing your values, setting your intentions, and reflecting on them is a simple way to get you living closer to who you want to be in 2023 and tuning out all the noise. I dive a lot deeper into this strategy, including lots of examples from my own life, in today’s episode of Active & Connected Families so click the links below to head over to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher, or look up our show on any other podcast listening platform to listen to today’s episode!
In this episode, we cover:
- The different types of messages we get from all different kinds of places: Social Media, family, friends, …;
- How to decipher what messages to listen to;
- Peer pressure and why it’s not always a bad thing;
- My easy, 3-step strategy to help me (and you) live more aligned with our values in 2023;
- A ton of examples from my own life;
- And more!
More about Virginia Family Therapy
Virginia Family Therapy is a mental health practice serving individuals, families, and our community. VFT is designed to help people at all stages and from all walks of life by offering therapists and physicians with diverse backgrounds and specialties via face-to-face, walk-and-talk, and telemedicine appointments. Throughout, we are committed to developing strengths-based, authentic, and long-lasting relationships with you and your children. We hope to provide you with the support and insight you need to help your family navigate life’s hard times and joys.
Are you or your child struggling with mental health? We have a team of psychologists and psychiatrists who can help you out. You can learn more about our practice or contact us here.
Disclaimer: Please remember we are real live therapists, however this is a podcast and is not considered a therapy session. Not only because there is no co-pay but also because we can’t speak to your individual experiences. We are here to help you keep raising healthy kids. And remember, if you are an imperfect parent, we are right there with you. If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, please call your local crisis hotline or go to your nearest emergency room.
Fostering growth through connection.
