Rosh Hashana brings with it a time for renewal and with every new year comes new resolutions. We have already asked for a new year that is happy and sweet, but no new year would be complete without recognizing our imperfections and trying to improve on them.
While I don’t make official resolutions every year, I do take note of what I’d like to improve on throughout the year.
Right now I find myself in survival mode when it comes to having company and maintaining friendships. I sometimes feel like I only have the energy to only focus on myself and the needs of my family.
While there isn’t anything wrong with this per say, I want to do better in this area. I want to be more giving to others and encourage my kids to do the same.
4 Small Ways to be More Giving
1. Have Company for Shabbos Meals
We hardly ever have guests for meals because I find it overwhelming to do all of the cooking and preparing. By Thursday I am so exhausted I usually just end up making chicken and rice with sweet potatoes for our meal. Although those foods are delicious, I would like to serve our guests something a bit nicer 😉 So my goal is to try to extend invitations once a month for starters.
2. Invite Friends
In order to encourage my kids to be more giving I’d like to arrange more play dates for them. As an introverted mom it’s always hard making the call, but my kids are still too young to do it themselves. Having friends over will hopefully teach my kids how to put their guest’s needs before their own. As an added bonus it will also teach them how to compromise… a vital life skill.
3. Give Yiddishkeit in my Kids
I just saw this wonderful video from Aish called “How to Instill a Love for Judaism in Your Children”. The video brought up some simple ways I can “give” Yiddishkeit to my children and I am looking forward to really focusing on this during the upcoming weeks as we celebrate more holidays.
4. Have Date Nights
My husband. He’s so wonderful and also works so hard. I want to be more giving to him by spending more time with him. Hopefully we can work together to find the time to enjoy each others company- even if we cannot go out. Playing board games, eating ice cream or even watching a movie- as long as it’s time together it’s a win.
These are just some small way to give more, but hopefully will help me start on my path to increased giving.
What are some things you’d like to improve upon this year?
Check out these links for what I’ve focused on in the past (make sure to read about my Status Quo Challenge for how I dealt with making changes when I couldn’t really handle it):
- We Can’t Have it All – How I’m Refocusing
- Take The Status Quo Challenge
- Patience- My New Year Resolution
- Own Your Life – Make Small Changes with Big Impact
- 4 Small Ways I Can Be More Giving
- 2018 Goals – Renewed Motivation
Until next time,
Shaindy