By: Muhammad Zubair Sarwa

Family: A Source of Inner Peace and Social Strength

A successful, happier, and healthier family has always been an inborn ambition of humans. It is a source of inner enlightenment, social strength, and a cool wave of sweet breeze for the solace of head and heart for humans.

However, in the Global Village, people have been facing the pressures of modern life: long working hours, increasing demands of education, digital distractions, and social responsibilities. Despite all these challenges, a successful family life may be achieved with stronger bonds for lasting happiness.

The praise-worthy American magazines and newspapers like THE ATLANTIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, and PSYCHOLOGY TODAY have discovered the importance of a successful family life and provide spectacular insights into how this could be achieved. When we combine the insights of ancient philosophers and modern psychologists, we discover magnificent strategies that result in a happier family life.

The Family as the Foundation of Well-Being

It is the fundamental parameter of personal growth and overall well-being. Research published in THE NEW YORK TIMES suggests that families that are more strong and interconnected are more capable of facing the adversities of Life.It provides emotional support, engraved values, and a comfortable space where individuals can grow to the optimal level.

Ancient philosophers like Aristotle and Confucius, as well as modern-age psychologists like Carl Rogers and John Bowley, have had deep insights into the phenomenon of family life. Combining their insights with modern research reveals the timeless significance of shared responsibility, resilience, communication, and empathy.

In this blog, we will illuminate the insights of ancient philosophers and scientifically proven actionable strategies of the modern age to foster a successful, happier, and healthier family life. We will now discuss spectacular strategies in a detailed manner.

The Excellent Power of Communication:

Confucius said, The strength of a Nation is derived from the integrity of the home.’’

CARL ROGERS has been of the viewpoint that active listening and non-judgemental behaviour play a great role in strengthening family relations. In the modern age, THE ATLANTIC strongly emphasizes families having meaningful conversations, especially as technology poses a serious threat to face-to-face interactions. Digital devices like smartphones may create an emotional gap among family members, making open conversation more important than was ever required.

Actionable Step:

• Arrange designated times when technology is kept aside to have face-to-face conversations and feel the pleasure of emotions. For example, during dinner or on a holiday.
• Give special attention to your family members, listen to them actively, validate their feelings, and respond with empathy.
• Arrange regular family meetings where everyone can share their views openly through face-to-face interactions.

Empathy:

ARISTOTLE gave the concept of ‘’PHILIA’’ a kind of passionate prestige and love, as one of the fundamental virtues for maintaining strong relationships. He was of the viewpoint that empathy the ability to understand and feel the emotions of others—is the fundamental feature of building strong relations.

In the modern age, psychologist Brene Brown has become the torchbearer of empathy. She advocates empathy when supported in a family environment into deeper emotional relations of family members.

Psychology Today greatly emphasizes the importance of EMPATHY in building strong family relations, giving a point of view that children grow up in an empathetic manner and are emotionally stronger to overcome social challenges.

Actionable Step:

• Get involved in perspective-taking, where family members put themselves in other people’s shoes to feel the situation.
• Encourage your family members to have open-ended questions to explore the inner feelings of your family members.
• Develop such an environment to validate each other’s emotions, even if you disagree.

Resilience:

Insights from the NEW YORK TIMES, VIKTOR FRANKIL and MARCUS:

Resilience is the ability to rise again in the face of adversity, a quality that is much required in the present unpredictable age. MARCUS, a Roman philosopher, had been of the viewpoint that challenges are a part of Life and individuals must become capable of converting them into opportunities

Viktor Frankl gave the concept that after facing setbacks, individuals become more adaptable for stronger relations. THE NEW YORK TIMES has extensively written about focusing on shared values to develop resilience. Research reveals that families possessing it have much more immunity to face stress, tension, depression, and come out of adversities triumphantly.

Actionable Steps:

• Arrange family rituals such as having weekly dinners together or vacations to build a stronger feeling of shared values.
• Encourage all your family members to exchange their experiences, creating an environment where every member of the family has a special value.
• Develop a sense of unanimity among the family members so that they can face difficult times with a united and untired action.

Quality Time:

PLATO said ‘’You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.’’

He was of the viewpoint that engaging in meaningful activities is important for strong relations. In the modern age, Dr. . John Gottman believes that quality time is the fundamental factor for creating strong family relations. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL points out the benefits of ‘’MICRO MOMENTS’’ of relationships (small but strong interactions with family throughout the day); such moments are there when families come together for any reason to actually feel the emotions of each other.

Actionable Step:

• Arrange such events as dinner, cooking together, or game nights where everyone can participate.
• Micromoments are extremely important, such as having a cup of coffee together before going to bed.
• Participate in the hobbies or interests of each family member to give you a strength of family bond.

Emotional Safety:

Philosopher ROUSSEAU was of the viewpoint that family should be a safe haven for expression of emotions by all family members. John Bowby coined the modern attachment theory about a safe emotional connection between parents and children. According to Bowley, children with safe space for emotional expressions with their parents appear to be more successful in life.

THE NEW YORK TIMES Parenting section has repeatedly emphasized a safe space for emotional expression by children at home. When family members find it comfortable to express their emotions without fear of criticism, emotional bonds are strengthened.

Actionable Steps:

• Make it convenient for your family members to express their emotions freely at home.
• Give respect to the emotions of your family members.
• Enhance vulnerability by sharing your own experiences, fears, and hopes to create an environment of ease and comfort for your family members.

Shared Responsibility:

Philosopher EPITETUS was of the viewpoint that the basis of a better life is to understand your limitations—what you can do and what not. He believed in shared responsibility as the foundation of a happier family.

Psychologist  , Alfred Adler emphasized that cooperation plays a pivotal role in a happier and healthier family. According to Adler, when family members take care of each other and take responsibility for the welfare of the family, their relationship becomes stronger and healthier.

Actionable Steps:

• Each and every family member should be assigned a duty as per their abilities and capability
• Involve children in the decision-making process to cultivate a sense of ownership.
• Arrange teamwork by assigning tasks to each family member and celebrating the achievement together.

Love and Affection:

CONFICIUS believed in ‘’RIN’’ or benevolence, one of the most important parameters of a stronger and happier family.

He was of the viewpoint that love and affection need to be expressed repeatedly. Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist, gave the insight and importance of love in human relationships. He emphasized that love creates feelings of belonging and fulfillment.

THE NEW YORK TIMES WELLNESS SECTION provides a detailed review of love and affection, either through words or touch, which is extremely important to strengthen the happiness and health of family members.

Actionable Steps:

• Execute small acts of expressing love, like giving a compliment, having a writing note, expressing good wishes or a sentence of love, and helping family members in small daily routine work at home.
• Physical acts like kissing, hugs, or holding hands play a vital role in reinvigorating feelings of love and emotional attachment.

Final Thought:

To build a strong, successful, and happier family, it is imperative to express intention, empathy, and shared responsibility. Deriving insights from ancient philosophers, modern psychologists, and famous newspapers resulted in the fundamental parameters of a happier, healthier, and stronger family being love, resilience, communication, and empathy. By adopting such values, families not only get stronger but also thrive in the modern, fast-paced world, resulting in everlasting happiness.