In a world that’s constantly telling you what to be and who to believe, it’s important that you raise your family to think for itself. And one of the best ways to clarify who your family is and what you’re about is by creating a family manifesto.
What is a Family Manifesto?
Wouldn’t it be nice if your entire family was on the same page? If you all clearly knew what you stood for as a family unit? Well, a family manifesto does just that. A family manifesto is a written document that shows the values you believe in; how you expect each other to act and treat people; how you plan to raise your children (if you have them); what your family does when together; and the ways your family celebrates success and mourns loss.
To put it succinctly, your family manifesto says, “This is who we are as a family.” It’s an expression of unity and identity, which are key elements in establishing harmony.
Having a family manifesto provides a number of helpful benefits, including:
- Clarity. You’re able to clearly see what your family stands for. There’s no gray area on morals or beliefs.
- Togetherness. When everyone is on the same page regarding big picture ideals, it’s much easier to feel together. Unity is a natural byproduct of mutual understanding.
- Harmony. With a family manifesto, there are fewer arguments and less friction. Your family experiences greater peace and harmony.
- Vision. When you know where you’ve been, who you are, and what you stand for (as a family), it becomes easy to cast a vision about where you want to be in the future.
Imagine how much different your family would look if there was clarity on your identity, togetherness, harmony, and a vision for the future. It would change everything, right? Well, there’s no better time than the present to get started.
How to Create a Family Manifesto
Now that you understand the “why” behind creating a manifesto, let’s discuss the “how.” Here are several tips to help you develop a manifesto that guides and directs your family for years to come:
1. Brainstorm Together
Begin with a big brainstorming session. This is where you gather the family and ask a series of questions. Pull out a Google Doc or a whiteboard and record everyone’s answers as they come in. Ask questions like:
- What is important to our family?
- What sort of things does our family believe in?
- What are our favorite activities and experiences as a family?
- How do we want to treat each other/others?
- In what ways do we like to celebrate? How do we handle difficult things?
During this phase, don’t worry about which answers are right or wrong – just focus on documenting them. The idea is to build an exhaustive list of anything that could be relevant.
2. Give Everyone a Voice
Once ideas have been dumped onto a whiteboard or into a document, it’s time to discuss. Go around the room and let each person highlight ideas that are important to them, while also arguing against anything that they don’t believe aligns with the family values. Avoid arguments or accusations. When it’s one person’s turn to talk, everyone else remains silent.
If there are disagreements on what to include, take a poll. Majority opinion rules. (If there’s a tie, the parents get to be the tiebreaker, though they must vote as one unit.)
3. Design and Print
Organize the ideas into different sections and clearly document beliefs. Use an online printing service to produce a saddle stitch booklet for each family member. This book will likely be somewhere between 8-20 pages.
4. Review Regularly
In order for the family manifesto to be something that truly changes your family and puts everyone on an upward trajectory, you have to review it regularly. A lot of families hold a family meeting on the first Sunday of each month. During this meeting, they begin with reviewing the manifesto. Then they follow it up with other important issues like monthly calendar discussions, budgeting, requests, concerns, etc.
Put Your Family on a Mission
If you’re tired of your family being defined by chaos, conflict, and a lack of organization, it’s time to infuse some purpose into your identity. Put your family on a mission by creating your own unique family manifesto. This is one project you’ll never forget!
—
This content is brought to you by Larry Alton.
This post is republished on Agents of Change in the “A Parent Is Born” publication on Medium.
—
Photo credit: Shutterstock
