How do you describe the importance of family? That’s a difficult question to answer. To many of us, family is the most important thing in our lives. They guide us, challenge us, protect us, laugh with us, cry with us, and are there for us whenever we need them.
Many of us describe family in different ways. For some, family is simply your blood relatives. For others, the term family is a word used for many close friends as well. Regardless of how you define it, there’s little debate over the massive importance of family in our lives.
As we move forward, we’re going to take a deeper look at some of the main reasons why family is essential to our well-being. Let’s get started.
Bringing Happiness
No matter how much money we have, how old we are, or where we are in our career, the ultimate goal of all of us is to be happy. And, as leadership expert John Maxwell says:
“Family and friendships are two of the greatest facilitators of happiness.”
That claim is one that most of us would find impossible to argue with. While we know that there are many reasons why family is important, their ability to consistently bring us happiness throughout our daily lives is possibly the most important.
Guiding Morals and Values
As children grow up, their morals and values are shaped by their family. Parents are especially responsible in this area, as it’s been proven time and time again that a child’s parents influence early moral development.
While this certainly isn’t a surprise, it’s a good reminder that the morals that we bestow upon our children will influence the rest of their lives and can persist for generations. After all, your own parents are likely to be your greatest source of inspiration for good values to have that you hope to develop in your children.
Providing Emotional Support
Life certainly has its way of challenging us and attempting to navigate all of those challenges on our own is nearly impossible. We’ve all had plenty of experiences that made us angry, led us to tears, and/or left us shaking our head in disbelief.
The importance of family in these situations is undeniable. Having someone there for us that will listen and not judge us for our emotions is crucial to mental health. And it’s also why so much effort goes into creating an emotionally supportive home environment.
Developing the Ability to Trust
The relationships that we build throughout our lives, whether they be with friends, partners, or even co-workers, are all built on the backbone of trust. Without a level of trust, our friendships, marriages, and teams become much more vulnerable to breaking apart through even minor issues.
Through our early and ongoing relationships with family members, we’re able to develop the ability to trust that will allow us to sustain other relationships throughout our lives. Having a family that provides a sense of safety and protection helps continually cultivate a mindset where we can trust enough to open up to other people.
Building Confidence and Self-Esteem
Having a strong sense of confidence and self-esteem is essential for succeeding in life. No matter what we do with our lives, having a self-view that we’re competent in our abilities allows us to remain persistent in achieving our goals. Without it, we would likely quit as soon as trouble arised.
Family is important in this respect because they’re able to provide the early encouragement that puts us in a position of confidence. As we raise our kids, we’re able to put them in situations where they can build confidence and self-esteem through their achievements. And, when they fall, we’re able to provide encouragement that allows them to persist through those challenges.
Shaping Your Identity and Life Choices
“What should I do with my life?”
That’s a question that we all ask ourselves hundreds of times throughout our lives. And, in most cases, the answer that we come to will come from how we think of our own identity. That identity is often shaped through our family and the morals/values that they’ve bestowed upon us.
And while all of us carve our own unique path in this world, the importance of family in guiding our identity and life choices is undeniable.
Describing the importance of family within a short post like this is nearly impossible as entire books have been written about each reason listed above. As parents, however, it’s imperative that we understand the role that we play in our child’s lives and how our current family environment can impact our family for generations.
Hopefully this post can serve as a guide for outlining what areas in your own family can be improved upon. Because, while there is no such thing as the ‘perfect’ family, improvement is achievable for all of us.
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