Ever heard of “How to Win Friends and Influence People”?

It’s a classic self-help book by Dale Carnegie.

As I was reading it this week one of the chapters hit me like lightning.

It was a genius way to get cooperation from your family around the house

On page 151, Mr. Carnegie says,

“If you tell people they are wrong, do you make them want to agree with you? Never!”

And he goes on to say that if you want to have cooperation (and avoid making enemies), it’s infinitely more effective to allow the other person to save face and not point out their errors.

Allow them to come to their own conclusion that they’ve made a mistake.

Also, praising people for the things they have done well is a much more effective way to gaining cooperation.

What does this have to do with to keeping our homes neat or doing some decluttering work?

Everything!

Here’s how I see it.

If you want your kids to put away their toys, it’s probably better to “catch them being good” and praise the behaviors you want to see.

Instead of constantly criticizing them for the things they’ve left undone.

It’s so easy to go from teaching our kids to help take care of our homes…

… to being a nagging parent who’s never satisfied.

I SO need to work on this!

And if you want your partner to help around the house, why not thank them for something they’ve done recently?

He (or she) will be glad you noticed and look for other ways to please you.

I love these ideas and I’m encouraging YOU to try them out with me!

I call this the Carnegie Challenge (after Dale Carnegie).

Here’s how it works:

1. Refrain from criticism as much as possible.

2. Look for opportunities to praise the actions and qualities you want to develop and encourage.

3. See what happens!

I announced this challenge recently on Facebook Live.

Are you in? Leave a comment and let me know!