SELF

Affirmation of the Individual. Strong family systems make a kind of non-judgmental psychic and emotional investment in the individual, instilling a sense that his or her efforts and dreams are worthwhile. This involves allowing the tether of the family to slacken so that each individual can fully own their experiences and decisions, successes and failures. Ownership is crucial if an individual is to develop personal accountability in his or her life. The family’s affirmation of self and purpose is essential to the healthy development of any human being, whether child, grandchild, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, parent, or even advisor. Everyone needs to believe in who they are so they can be independent, productive and successful in their own way. This affirmation (communicated in words and deeds from one family member to another or from one generation to another) models an important life skill. In fact, it is a skill that is increasingly seen in the world as one of the keys to success: emotional intelligence, that inner social savvy that allows one to navigate and marry their own goals and desires within those of others. Since emotional intelligence is fundamental to an individual’s knowledge of self, as well as their ability to genuinely be interested in the interests of others, it is viewed as an essential ingredient in personal development and achievement … in the pursuit of generational well-being.