MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors

The Stories That Bind Us

Five takeaways:

1. This article asks– what practical steps can we do to make families function more harmoniously?
2. The single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative.
3. Psychologist Marshall Duke developed the “Do You Know” test to predict childhood happiness and future success in young people; they found that the more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.
4. Dr. Duke said that children who have the most self-confidence have a strong sense of “intergenerational self.” They know they belong to something bigger than themselves.
5. A family is more likely to be successful and harmonious if it tells a positive story about itself. Families need to “create, refine, and retell” this narrative to be able to bounce back from difficult moments or periods.

An interesting 2013 piece from Bruce Feiler at The New York Times:
Read the whole story.

Note: At the time of this posting New York Times offers ten free article views per month.