With Christmas on the horizon it’s a good time to talk about Families. My definition of Family: the people we sort of get stuck with and there’s not a lot of choice about it!! We’re allocated people to be in our lives, by birth or romance (eg in-laws), and we generally need to find a way to get on with them .. even if we don’t actually like them, or we have opposing values and beliefs. Last week I had 2 coaching clients in the same day wanting to discuss how to get on better with in-laws. It’s not always easy and being Human can make it really difficult. We get triggered, annoyed, upset, judgemental, offended etc. We all have a different approach to life. Our growing up experiences shape us in various, mostly unconscious, ways. So if you find someone in your extended family hard to get along with, know that they are probably finding it difficult too. And it’s pretty normal to be having that experience – it doesn’t make them, or you, a bad person. Sometimes it helps just to remind ourselves that we are all different, with vastly different circumstances affecting our entire lives, and to try to be a little more accepting of those around us.