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I ran into something the other day that captivated my imagination and I wanted to share it with you.

How often have you found yourself at the dinner table with family or friends around you and there is awkward silence?
How many times have you or your dinner companions struggled to find something meaningful to chat about?
Do you often search for the right questions to ask your kids to get them to open up to you?

Here is a great solution for any and all of those situations [I think these are BRILLIANT!]:

5 Questions to Ask at the Dinner Table
To Instantly Transform Your Family Relationships
By Anil Gupta—Relationship Coach

This works especially well when kids are at the dinner table and the adults participate. [And I’ve tried it with just adults and had wonderful results. ~MTK]

1. What is it you’ve done today that you’d like to be acknowledged for?
This question is good for kids and adults alike. It helps us feel appreciated and recognize each other. It helps boost self-esteem.

2. What are you grateful for today?
Showing gratitude has profound effects on mental well-being. It increases self-esteem, improves sleep and increases energy levels. When you constantly show appreciation and gratitude, you will find that things seem to fall into place and into your lap.

3. What act of kindness did you see or perform today?
By asking this question, you are asking people to be aware of the beauty in the world. You’re also teaching them to be consciously kind to others and to see kindness as a natural way of being.

4. What was great about today? What magical thing did you see?
Allowing someone to talk about something that made them happy lets them know that you are interested and involved in their life. It also increases happiness levels by focusing on very positive things.

5. What unresolved issues do we need to talk about?
Opening up the conversation around unresolved issues reinforces open communication, transparency, and candor. It prevents resentment from building up over time and creates a clear space for love and understanding.

Take turns leading the questions each day so that each person gets to feel important, listened to, loved and acknowledged. It’s also important to let kids run the meeting (over dinner for example). Imagine what it does for a young person’s self-esteem and confidence when they get to lead dinner table meetings with the adults in their life.

Asking the right questions while being present and aware makes a huge difference in our lives and in the lives of our children. And it creates happier families. You can start with any number of these questions … choose one or two that resonate with you first. Add the others as they become relevant to you and your family. [end of Mr. Gupta’s post]

I’ve personally tried a couple of these and the initial response was surprise that I was asking and then gratitude that I cared.

Can you imagine what would happen at dinner tables around the country, for that matter around the world, if more of us started asking questions like these of our family and friends?

What if we did?
What do you think? Are you up for giving it a try? Let us know the results … come back and leave a comment.

From my heart to yours …

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Inspiration Ambassador | Divorce Transition Coach

SafeHarbor Coaching |Where divorced women create the fulfilling life they deserve


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