Family MattersPractical Parenting Blog

Seize the Day: Are You Using or Losing Your Time?

Watch in sand

Time is precious. Some say that time is the only thing we really have. Most people know the expressions “Carpe diem”, “Seize the day” and “Seize the present”, but only few actually live by them.

Time keeps moving forward. Often, we feel like it’s just flown past us and are out of time. So, we need to learn to appreciate the time we have and use it wisely. We all have the same 24 hours every day. We should make the most of them.

We say that children have no concept of time. My 3-year-old granddaughter has reached the stage of recognizing past and present. For her, the past is “yesterday”, and the future is “tomorrow”. That’s advanced for her age, but limited compared to an adult’s understanding of time.

But I wonder about this view.

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This Is How To Take Charge Of Your Life

One smile in a crowed of frowns

Many people want to take charge of their life, but simply don’t know how to. It’s one thing to understand that taking charge is important and another thing to actually do it. If you’re looking for tips that will help you, keep reading!

I wasn’t always in charge of my life. For my first 16 years, other people and circumstances ruled everything. I had no control whatsoever and my life looked, well, out of control.

I was sailing in the sea of life without a captain and was knocked around from side to side, crashing and tumbling when strong winds came. Without direction, without resources, with no captain and no crew to support me, every breeze turned into a storm.

For every two steps forward, I took one step back. Even when I made progress, I still felt I was going nowhere.

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How to Make Every Relationship You Want Good

Good relationship - holding hands

What makes a good relationship? Are there signs of a good relationship? What questions would you ask to find out if a relationship is good? How to have good relationships?

Every year, as September gets closer, my husband Gal and I think about relationships. This year, in September 2020, we’re celebrating 40 years of friendship. We’ve learned over the years that friendship is a special relationship worth celebrating.

When you spend many years with one person, you learn a lot about them. But mostly, you learn about yourself and what relationships mean.

This post is part 46 of 48 in the series Make a List

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100 Great Insights I Got from the Coronavirus

A game of Scrabble with COVID-19 pandemic words

We are going through a very tough period. The challenge we all face with the COVID-19 which touched every aspect of our life, is big. It feels like the Coronavirus took over the world and every person, without discrimination, is impacted whether directly or not.

The virus connected us somehow and we are aware of what is happening to our families, our neighborhood, our communities, our countries and the planet.

But challenges can kill us or heal us, depending on our attitude. The challenge can be the same, but the outcome will be different depending on whether we consider it as an opportunity or as a curse.

This post is part 45 of 48 in the series Make a List

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Is Money a Curse or blessing? My New Book: The Will

The Will by Ronit Baras

Yay, I did it! My new book, The Will, was published in November 2019 and I am proud to the max.

In this post, I’ve decided to answer all the questions I got from Carol Grainger, who edited the book, about the book and the process of writing it, from the first time I told her about it until the last edit.

Stick around and enjoy the ride with me.

The Will is a fictional novel. I love the story medium to help readers take their own journey in answering the question of whether money is curse or a blessing.

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My Parenting Book “Motivating Kids” is Now in Print

Motivating Kids

Over 20 years ago, people said to me that books were going to be a thing of the past. The prediction that we would no longer see any printed newspaper or book was devastating for me, because my desire to be an author and a journalist just didn’t seem right without them.

When I heard that, I grieved the lost experience of touching books, taking my kids to the library, smelling the printed paper and sitting in the kids’ corner, reading, enjoying the moment and imagining we are in a different world. Inside, I prayed it wouldn’t happen. At least, I prayed it wouldn’t happen too quickly.

I think my wish came true.

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100 Things to Make on Your Perfect Day

Tree and bench at the peak of a hill

Have you ever tried to dream of a perfect day? It can be a challenge doing it while you’re in the middle of everything going on in your life. This post should help.

Every person has a story. People say that the quality of our life depends on the quality of our story. With that in mind, it is easy to decide whether you have had a good life or not. All you have to do is tell your story.

If the story you tell includes a lot of good thoughts, feelings, actions, behaviors, laughter, love and joy, give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve had a great life.

If you tell a story with a lot of negative thoughts, feelings, actions, resentment, sadness, fear, hate and depression, no one envies you. Your life sucks!

In this post, I would like to suggest a ‘moving forward’ activity. In this activity, you will take yourself forward, to the perfect day and try to imagine, what would happen there that would make you put it into the “perfect” category.

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How to Be Creative and Get Ahead

Woman covered in colorful pain like a bird

Many people will tell you that if you want a better life, you have to be different, think differently and avoid being “just like everyone else”. Being part of the majority is not appealing at all, because most people struggle with their daily life, while they dream of a better life.

One way of getting ahead is keeping an open mind and allowing yourself to think “outside the box”. People who think outside the box are called “creative”. I truly believe that everyone has a creative side, but most people can only access it when they relax.

Here is a beautiful quote that I think is very relevant: The mind is like a parachute. It only functions when it’s open.

Wow! So true.

We want to be creative because it makes us very good at solving problems. Creativity makes us find efficient ways to do things. It makes us attractive to others, turns us into entrepreneurs and allows us to express ourselves better. Creativity helps us relieve stress, builds our confidence and more.

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We Are What We Think: My Rice Experiment

Love heart made from rice

33 years ago, when I studied special education, I learned that our thoughts manifest themselves into our life. I had amazing teachers and mentors. One of them, who was a psychologist, taught me the importance of our emotional hygiene as teachers. He said that what we think of ourselves reflects on the children and the people that work with us.

Scientists have examined the power of what we think for years. Many philosophers and spiritual leaders have covered it extensively. Our life is a reflection of what we think. In most spiritual beliefs, there is much focus on thoughts and intention. As a life coach, I work with my clients on the power of thought and I share with them how powerful thoughts are.

About 20 years ago, Gal and I traveled with the kids to France and went to a train station. On the walls was an exhibition of Dr Masaru Emoto’s water experiments. Emoto exposed water to music, spoken words, written words, videos and pictures. He then froze the water until it crystalized, sliced it and took photos of the ice. What he found was amazing!

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Speak Your Truth for a Strong Relationship

Weird Old Couple

I’ve been in a relationship for 38 years, and I know it’s not always easy to speak your truth. When you bring two people together, they both need to compromise a lot and can’t easily balance the ratio between “give” and “take”.

Just recently, I had the chance to be on my own for 6 weeks when my husband went to drum in Africa. I realized that as partners and parents, we compromise many times, to the point where we might forget who we truly are.

When I say “compromise”, I don’t mean that anyone has any bad intentions. It happens naturally. When you live with other people, you can’t just do what you feel like doing. My son was also in Africa and my youngest daughter, who is 17, spent her time studying and having get-togethers with her friends, so she was not home either most of the time.

During those weeks, I examined 3 of my habits: sleep, eating and fun time. I realized I didn’t follow my natural cycles of sleeping, eating or doing fun things when my family members were around, because, first and foremost, I think of their timetable and their needs, and I juggle everyone else into a plan that would work. Me and my cycles are normally not part of the picture.

Don’t get me wrong. It was my choice. I just realized I had neglected part of myself.

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