Family Dynamics: Its Influence on Personal Relationships - Essay Sample

Introduction

Families have influences in personal lives, especially when in a relationship. The family that a person grew up in impacts the nature of the family created in the future. People's styles of behaving with each other and the methods of communication originate from a family. Besides, dealing with conflicts starts with a family of origin. The influence of the family in personal relationships helps in nurturing intimacy, love, partnership, and sex in various individuals. Murray Bowen documents that the perception of self and others is influenced by the quality of family relationships established between two individuals. Through an analysis of how a family of origin affects my socialization, it will be easier to determine whether family relationships can be used in helping individuals thrive in relationships.

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Style of Communication

Communication helps in building stronger relationships with other people. It is easier for a person to communicate with one another if they understand the other parties. My family of origin has influenced my style of communication because I developed listening habits and specific communication cues from my family. For instance, I listen better because most of our family members are good listeners. Also, I communicate with other people regularly because my mother used to travel with me to meet other family friends regularly. I developed the habit of communicating well with the other siblings and other people I met in life.

Dealing With Conflict and Stress Management

When dealing with conflicts, I try to understand the other person and the reason for having the fury. I tend to listen to the problems before being involved in actual solutions. My family has influenced the way I handle conflicts from various lawsuits against our family. I learned that it is easy to deal with disputes when exposed to more pressure, and maintaining a respectable position in a conflict assists in solving most skirmishes. In stress management, I have a different approach where I regularly involve myself in communication with different people. I learned that from my mother, who was encouraging me to manage my entire issues by talking to her or any other family member. I regularly spoke to my father about personal matters, and the same has been happening even with my close friends.

Leisure Activities

When I was young, I would travel to several destinations and spend most of the weekends in a park. My father used to read a lot of newspapers and novels. I was influenced to engage in the same behavior because I read most of the books that I found within the house. My leisure activities at an older age have not changed because I still read books and newspaper articles. I also engage in regular traveling to boost my moods, a fact that has made my leisure activities better even at an old age.

Expression of My Religion

Going to a holy ground was necessary for our family because my father was a religious extremist. My family has been influential in the roles I have played in church and spiritual matters. My mother was also religious, paving the way for me to become a religious person in the future. Presently, I uphold strong religious cues because I respect God. I became a prayerful person because I was involved in regular church events at a younger age.

Family Roles

Most roles played in the family have been influenced by my family of origin. I became a responsible person who understood most issues I faced in my life. My socialization antiques are useful because I engage people in regular communication. I take responsibility for all my actions when handling most family issues. I learned to become a provider and a decision-maker because my father usually encouraged me to become a respectable person. I have depended on my family to create strong kinship ties with other individuals in society. I respect each person's opinion, a fact showing my family has created an influence in my personal life.

Gender Roles

I have never disregarded any gender as inferior to the other. Equality is necessary for building strong moral relationships. My father usually emphasized on upholding respect and always providing solutions to problems without hesitating. I learned to respect all the genders. Also, I learned that each gender is capable of perfecting in their actions regardless of stereotyping. My family influenced the level of respect I have for the various gender roles and specific values upheld by each gender.

Ethnic Identity Expression

My family has created a lot of influence on the way I celebrate my ethnicity. I have never been stereotyped, and I believe that the perception upheld by my family concerning respecting everyone and being favorable to all the social changes. Therefore, I learned to respect people of different races, genders, and ethnic backgrounds. I learned to be responsible to all the people around and always help when problems related to stereotyping raise. Also, I do not hide my origin, making it easy for me to interact with other people. I celebrate my background by attending various traditional ceremonies and cultural events to support all the cultures. I also like interacting with people from different cultures because since I was young, my parents build a strong relationship with people from other cultures, making it easy for us to interact.

Attitude Towards Sex

Relationships are affected by the family of origin. My family influenced my perception of sex. I have learned that sex is divine, and it has to be enjoyed by married people or people in an intimate relationship. My father always emphasized on respecting women in society. I learned that having the right attitude towards sex assists individuals in becoming better in life by organizing their thoughts. Respecting women makes it easy to have a different perception of sex. Sex is also attached to love and attractiveness. I learned that attraction led to the development of sexual desires that ultimately led to sex. I learned to control all my sexual attractions towards people making it easy for me to relate better with others. My attitude towards sex was shaped by my family, a factor that has assisted in building more reliable and better perceptions of the changes expected in life.

Work Values and Habits

My family changed my work ethic because I learned to work hard without complaining. I started working on house chores while I was young, a factor that assisted in developing a positive perception towards work. I learned to cook and handle simple duties at home. I usually joined my mother in trimming the flowers and cutting the grass during the morning. My work values developed, making me respect each duty provided and uphold professionalism in each task. I learned to be a responsible person at work because I encourage others to achieve their goals and work on the issues with a set plan. With family influence, I have been able to change my work ethic to become a leader and control my actions. My family also taught me to be responsible for my actions. I have learned that taking responsibility for my actions assist me in becoming a better person in my career. My father frequently invited me to his office to organize the files and set everything in order. I was also performing a few tasks for him while at home, a fact that helped in developing a positive attitude towards working. Therefore, my work ethic has been expertly shaped by my family of origin.

My family has changed my habits and behaviors. My family affected the way I approach challenges in life and how I celebrate my wins in life. I developed a habit of visiting the less fortunate and helping the needy in society through the influence of my family. Also, I learned to be a noble person and handling all the deals with ease by getting into details. Listening cues and communication cues are other habits I developed because of consistent interaction with my family. Development of all the prompts has assisted me in becoming a better person in life since I handle most challenges with ease while upholding my strong moral and religious views.

Reflection of the Influence of the Critical Learning Materials

The course materials provided assisted in informing my way of thinking because I earned that the family of origin creates a lot of influence in personal relations and the development of love. From one of the materials provided on lust, love, and relationships, I learned that intimacy could take several forms depending on the bond created between two people. Also, the material provided more information on how the family influences personal lives. Additionally, a theoretical perspective by Bowen, who studied the relationship between family members and how interactions affected how people acted later in life. I learned that each child is involved in constant criticism of their parents until they are 40 years when they start preserving the system by respecting their parents.

The materials provided also assisted me in learning different theories of attraction. I learned that attraction takes many forms, as shown by the balance theories, reward theories, arousal theories, and similarities possessed by the people. I learned that specific factors displayed by people attract each person. The materials also informed on the importance of the family in maintaining strong ties and creating a sustainable culture in a family. I have learned more about love and emotions and how healthy relationships are built-in society. Also, I learned communication, and the creation of effective relationships are related. I learned that communicating with people helps in building stronger relationships with each other, a fact that assist in maintaining strong cues in life.

My thought concerning ways of building stronger relationships and the influence of the family was changed through reading the materials. Initially, I knew that family influenced necessary activities in love life, but I learned that the family ties created between individuals affect most aspects within a relationship. I learned that love helped in defining specific attraction with other people in society. A romantic relationship starts from a small act of attractiveness before it advances to something different in the future. The family of origin will also shape the relationship. I was informed about the key terms used in attraction and relationship status. I learned that interpersonal relationships and intimate relationships could be created with better coordination of different people and developing attractions.

Management of personal relationships is hectic when a person is not dedicated. The materials provided information on relationship dynamics and the changes expected to take to maintain a relationship stronger. I was informed of the relationship cycle in most romantic relationships. Also, I learned the various ways of looking at a relationship and understanding the spouse better without any complications. The materials were also affective because they inform on the feedback and the change expected in a tie for it to function appropriately. I understand that each union has boundaries, but through regular trusting and management of expectations, a relationship can grow stronger. I knew a few theories of love and ingredients of love in society. However, I learned different styles of love and development of love through the attachment theory after reviewing the materials. Each approach assisted in developing my knowledge on how to handle most relationships. What is more, the family's influence on personal relationship assisted in developing my way of thought in handling necessary activities.

Conclusion

I learned that the process of love begins with attraction before advancing to building and consolidation in the relationship. From the consolidation state that involves r...