THE PROGRAM

THE 52 SMALL CHANGES FOR THE FAMILY program is designed to encourage small yet meaningful changes that will ultimately lead you and your family to enjoy a happier, healthier lifestyle. The idea is simple: make one small change per week for 52 weeks, and at the end of the year, you and your children will benefit from increased mental clarity, curiosity, and focus; better emotional balance and strength; improved physical health; and deeper connections with friends and family and, most important, with one another. This book is designed with two things in mind:

1. Giving you and your family a year to make changes enables you to slowly integrate them over time, so they are more likely to stick for the long term.

2. Although there are countless changes you can make, the changes presented in this book are small enough that they won't be overwhelming, yet will have significant impact.

Each change comes with an explanation as to why the change is important, as well as a "Path to Change," which provides tips and recommendations to help you successfully implement the change. With each week's success, you and your family will be inspired to move to the next week's change, so that, within a year, you'll have mastered all 52 changes.

To best support you in your journey to a healthier, happier family, we've supplied tools, worksheets, and other resources in Part III; we highly recommend you use these to stay motivated and on track throughout the program.

A HOLISTIC APPROACH

The program outlined in 52 Small Changes for the Family takes an integrated approach. At the beginning of each week's chapter, you'll see an icon signifying which of the four areas the change addresses. The changes have been organized so all areas are addressed throughout the 52 weeks, instead of one at a time. This will keep you engaged, interested, and motivated, and allow you to comprehensively make progress. The icons are as follows:

Sharp Mind

Healthy Spirit

Resilient Body

Deep Connections

Every twelve weeks, you'll see the "Quarterly Changes Checklist," which lists the changes you've made up until that point so you can keep track of your progress and be sure to keep integrating the changes into your lifestyle.

LIFE AFTER THE 52 WEEKS

Once you and your family complete the 52-week program, the hope is you'll have increased mental clarity, curiosity, and focus; greater emotional balance and strength; improved physical health; and deeper connections with friends, family, and one another than you do today.

Consistently maintaining all 52 changes, however, may not always be seamless and easy. There may be times when it's a bit challenging or your schedule and your family's make it difficult. Life happens, so be sure not to let slipups discourage you. Life is a constant balancing act and requires us to make sacrifices. When you aren't on top of everything, remember: tomorrow is a new day. Let yourself and your family approach each day with new motivation and resolve. In the end, integrating the prescribed changes most of the time is what's most important for you and your children.

Revisit 52 Small Changes for the Family often, as it will always provide you with the basis for living a happy, healthy life. And consider making it a yearly project: when one year is completed, return to Week 1 and challenge your family to delve deeper into each of the changes!

GO YOUR OWN WAY

Although we've designed 52 Small Changes for the Family to be followed over the course of a year and with a certain progression, it is ultimately your and your family's own personal journey. Use this program in whatever way works best for you. That said, we highly recommend you take at least a week to integrate a small change before moving on to a new one. If one change is really easy or you are already incorporating it into your lifestyle, however, feel free to move forward with a different change.

Additionally, if you don't want to use this book sequentially but prefer to go out of order, that is fine, too. We would emphasize, however, that (1) you take your time so the changes you make stick, and (2) no matter what timeline you use, be sure to incorporate all 52 changes into your and your family's life, as they are meant to work together in concert.

52 WEEKS OF HABITS

TICKLE YOUR FUNNY BONE

A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.

— Madeleine L'Engle

THOUGH IT MAY seem trite to encourage laughter, given all of the responsibilities of parenting, we all could benefit from more humor. Let's face it — parenting is a tough job. But laughter allows us to enjoy both the good and bad moments, keeps us healthy, and helps maintain our sanity.

Laughter can be the perfect antidote to an otherwise stressful situation. What else can you do but laugh when you lock your family out of the house or step in dog poop? When we laugh, especially with others, our brains release endorphins — neurochemicals that boost our moods,...