How Important is Family to You Really?

Who would argue that family impacts our life more than any other institution, no matter who we are – a president or a pedestrian guard; a movie star or a mailman? Depending on our family experience, we will rate that impact somewhere between positive and negative.

But experience is not the only indication to how important family is to you personally. Character traits, personality, our own view of what is important in family relationships, (as well as the degree of self-sacrifice we bring (or anyone brings) to family relationships, will also tell a lot about how we value family. For that matter, any relationship.

RATE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

So, try this little exercise to help you evaluate just how you value family, really. Rate the importance of each of the following to you

from 1 to 15 (#1 as most important)

in

each

of your primary family relationships, ie mother, father, sibling, husband, child, mother-in-law, father-in-law, etc. Print out as many copies as you need, and be

completely

honest with yourself.

Affection______

Appearance______

Caring______

Communication______

Fun______

Honesty______

Intelligence______

Loyalty______

Patience______

Relationship with God______

Respect______

Responsible______

Self\-Discipline______

Self-Sacrificing______

Vulnerability______

Take-away: So, while it is by no means exhaustive, this quick evaluation can help you assess your family ‘values.’ Ask yourself: does this reveal anything to you about your value of family that you didn’t realize before? What does this tell you about your expectations of others? About yourself?