The Infamous NFZ

There aren't many rules my parents still hold to now that all of my sisters and I are out of the house, but there is one that I don't think my dad will ever let go of. When you go out to my folk's place in Montana, as soon as you step into the house you have entered the NFZ, what all the Hagstroms can quickly tell you is the "Negative Free Zone". And let me tell you, we still hear those initials multiple times when we're there because it is so easy to dwell on the negative.

Maybe your parents or a teacher or grandparent had a similar rule simply because they couldn't handle the grating sound of complaining. And now that we're the ones establishing the rules, we have begun to see why our childhood leaders and authorities established the NFZ's in our life. But how do we accomplish this in our children (or ourselves) when it seems to be lurking beyond every corner of life?

Check out Jon Gordon's blog, 5 Tips to Develop Positive Kids, for a few helpful ideas to reinforce the battle lines of the NFZ.