Personal Growth From Family Life

Face it.  We live almost all of our lives with families. You may think (or fancy yourselve) as the Lone Wolf.  But like it or not, it’s the rare person who is actually without family.  And it doesn’t matter whether we spend lots of time together or not, our family is our primary social group.  They can be warm and friendly or exasperating and annoying.  Nonetheless, these people are related to you by blood.

Wherever you go in this world, the family unit exits. There are different family types in different parts of the world. Not all the parts of the world experience joint families through out their lives. For example in the developed countries of the west it is very common that as the kids grow and they complete their education, they move to the places where they want to live and work. They remain in connection with their siblings but they do not necessarily live at the same place. On the other hand, in many Asian countries you observe that family units exist for a much longer time frame. In these countries people live in the same house with their sons and their families.  So you see that although the concept of the “family unit” exists in all parts of the world and all the cultures promote it, different cultures define the time frame  and scope of the family quite differently.

Your family ties are very important. Your family life will shape you as a person. What what you become in the future is very much dependent on your family life.  Your family of origin shape your values, your beliefs, and indeed your whole world view.  A peaceful family life will promote one set of values and behavior, while a chaotic family life can produce something quite different.

When you know that you have your parents and the siblings on your side and that you are not alone on the rugged road of life, it becomes easier to bear all the pain. When you face the rough and tough of life together, you are able to understand each other in a better way. You are there to comfort each other in the time of need.  It can be a very comforting thing to know that even if you are in trouble and you are facing some rough times, there are people who care about you and who can accompany you.  Belonging to such a protective environments can give you courage when it comes to facing the difficulties of life.

Family life is a major factor which shapes your personality.  Your family life combined with your experiences and the way you interpret them are primary factors that affect your personality as you grow up.  Later, when you are the adult of the household, your childhood family experiences definitely influence how your own family will function (or not).

Obviously, many things influence the dynamics of a family.  These include:

• the relationship of the parents to each other – how they love and support each other will be a model for the children
• the number of children – each child will have a different perspective on any event.  Have you ever noticed the different way people recall a particular incident years later?
• the economic conditions prevalent at the time – Often the oldest child is born when the parents are young and just starting their adult life, when money is typically scarce.  Younger children are born later in life when maybe the parents are earning more money.
• the health of the family members – if a family member has a major health issue that requires a high percentage of attention or financial or physical resources, the family members will each deal with that differently.
• the physical environment – Obviously, someone who grows up in a city will have a different world view than someone who grows up in a jungle.
• the psychological environment – harsh judgments, sharp reprimands, and emotional distance will produce an effect different from compassion, forgiveness and unconditional love.

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