Here are a few tips on how to deal with your family:
1. Don’t let small squabbles turn into big family fights.
You hear about this all of the time. A Mom and her daughter aren’t on speaking terms simply due to the fact that Mom doesn’t like her daughter’s significant other. Petty little issues such as this can easily turn into a huge rift that can last all too long. Even if you have to be the bigger person and make the first move, you won’t regret it later. Life is simply too short to have a falling out over something trivial.
2. Don’t lose touch with your family, unless you really have a good reason.
Many times, younger people take off for a new location and lose touch with their families. Don’t let it happen to you! Make it a point to call, write, and visit. However, if there are serious reasons due to which you’d rather not have some members of your family in your life, let him or her come to you. Just make sure it isn’t over something petty.
3. Work through tragedies together, and don’t let them come between you.
Often, the untimely death of a child can come between the surviving parents, or the death of parents can come between the surviving siblings. No matter what the specific case, make a point of helping your loved ones through the tragedy. Don’t take the anger over the death of a loved one out on other family members. Also, don’t let them take that anger out on you either. Simply realize that you need each other more than ever in order to get through the hard times.
4. Don’t let differences in circumstances come between you.
Chances are, there are some people in your family better off than others. This has led to dysfunction in all too many families. As hard as it may be, you just have to put the whole issue aside. This issue can so easily turn to jealousy and petty infighting, which can completely destroy a family. It simply isn’t worth it.
5. Don’t let loved ones try to change you.
This is a big one that I’ve struggled with for most of my life. You see, I always wanted to make my Parents and Grandparents happy. I just happened to leave out one person important in the equation – me. It is very easy to listen to criticism from parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the like – and then take it personally. It can make you so very angry that you staunchly refuse to make even necessary changes in your behavior or lifestyle. As difficult as it may be, you need to let those in your family who criticize you know how you feel.
If you follow just a few of the suggestions above, it might be just a little bit easier to deal with your family, whether you love them or hate them. As for me, I’m glad that I took a huge risk in order to move closer to my family. If I hadn’t, I would have missed out on a lot of wonderful memories.
