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Getting Along Better with Family
For anyone who loves their family but finds time together tense or tiring. Each day is one small step toward easier conversations, kinder visits and calmer limits, whether your family lives under your roof or across the country.
Relationships · Family · Communication · Boundaries · one to-do a day · you choose how many days
The first seven days
- Day 1Write down the three relatives you see most often and one word for how you usually feel after time with each.
- Day 2Notice which family member's name on your phone makes your shoulders tighten, and take one slow breath before you answer next time.
- Day 3Before calling your dad, choose one easy topic you'd both enjoy, like a ballgame, a recipe or a show.
- Day 4Jot down the role you tend to play at family gatherings, like peacemaker, joker or helper, and ask whether you still want it.
- Day 5Pick one phrase to use when a hot-button topic comes up, such as "Let's leave that one for today."
- Day 6Ask a grandparent or older relative where they lived when they were your age, and what their street looked like.
- Day 7Text a sibling about a happy memory from childhood, like a trip, a silly game or a favorite meal.
Further into the year
The to-dos keep changing as the year goes on. A few from later in this theme:
- Day 30When a relative shares a political view you disagree with, try "I see it differently, but I'm glad we can still have dinner together."
- Day 60Offer to help an aging parent with one small task, like setting up a phone or changing a lightbulb.
- Day 120Ask your parent what they wish they'd known about raising kids, simply out of curiosity.
- Day 240Plant something with a parent or grandparent this spring, like herbs in a pot.
- Day 365Reflect on how family time has felt lately, and write down one small change you'd like to keep.
How a challenge works
A Theraglee challenge is a theme with one small to-do for every day of a year. You choose how long yours runs, anywhere from a week to the full year, and each day you get the next to-do: something that takes a few minutes and fits inside an ordinary day. Tick it off when it is done. Nothing is scored and nothing is lost if you miss a day; the next to-do is simply waiting when you come back.
Challenges come with a free Theraglee account, which never asks for a card. Your progress stays private to you.