Photo by RODNAE Productions
Healthy family ties do not appear out of the blue—this is the main lesson from Como Procrear Una Familia Sana by Max Teran, a great book about family relations.
Having strong and healthy family ties is one of the bedrocks of success. Of course, you shouldn’t only be thinking of family as a prerequisite for success, but instead, realize that there is a medley of ways that the family influences the lives of individuals and their choices for the future.
Beyond achievement, family is a boon to the personal state of mind. How wonderful is it to know that wherever you may go, there are always people waiting for your return? How delightful is it that if you ever find yourself struggling with the challenges of life, there is a place you can find respite in? Isn’t it uplifting to know that whatever step forward you take, there are people who will cheer you on? However, as life goes on, a strong and healthy family is definitely a blessing.
Strong and healthy family ties are vital to having peace of mind and a generally better outlook on life and relationships.
Why Are Strong and Healthy Family Ties Important?
Like most social creatures, the presence of mutually beneficial and emotionally reciprocal bonds is critical to human development and social stability. Essentially, because humans are humans, they need family.
Scientifically speaking, resilient family ties led to lower levels of stress, which (if you’ve ever been so stressed that you felt nothing mattered anymore) is quite the gift.
What Makes a More Loving Family?
A loving family is one where there are strong and healthy family ties, and how those ties are established depends heavily on how each member of the family communicates. If a family has consistent communication within itself, relationships are made more intimate and longer lasting.
Actively listening to each other leads to the creation of a positive environment that allows for deeper growth and harmony. Communication is critical to developing both as a family and as an individual member of it. A family that does not speak to each other is one that does not care for each other.
There are families out there that are terrible, and it is understandable that some people would like to limit their interactions with them, but for those that want to keep talking with and meeting their kin, a healthy and consistent line of communication is important.
If everyone—from aunts and uncles to grandparents to cousins to siblings—learns how to express themselves better, spend time with family better and just overall be more open and communicative, the family will always be better off. Here are some ways to communicate better with a family:
- Eating together as a habit. Having meals is an important part of the day, and having them with family and other loved ones makes it more special. By sharing stories and talking to each other over food, family members can enjoy a good meal and better conversation.
- Spending time with each other. Although time is hard to look for these days, taking some to spend with family is always important. Despite it being a trope that “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” it doesn’t really bear out with the evidence. Consistent and engaging interaction is important.
- Having personal conversations. Remember that although the family should be a cohesive unit, it is still made up of individuals. Family time is great, but one should not forget to spend time with individual members also. Talking to them one on one is the start of deeper engagement and more intimate interactions.
- Expressing love and appreciation. Love, like truth, is no use if it isn’t out in the open. It should always be under the light. Tell your family that you love them and you appreciate their time and their presence. By being upfront with your emotions, you express sincerity and genuine appreciation.
Learn more about how to develop a healthy family in Como Procrear Una Familia Sana by Max Teran.
