Growing up in the Coleman household, we were expected to pitch in. When we got up from dinner, everyone helped clean up until everything was put away and the dishes washed. The same was true when we canned food. You were expected to help out until the last jar was filled and sealed.
The value of pitching in is something I really value and is a part of me. I have not done a great job of conveying it to my children, but I am trying.
On the other hand, there was a real value to penny pinching in my family. My mother loves to talk about how much she saved whenever she goes shopping. That never really felt like a good fit for me. Money is a tool and not a goal for me. So, that is a family value that I have rejected over the years.
In striving to be authentic, I have found that family values are one of the most confounding things to deal with because they are so deeply embedded in our psyche they can be hard to see. Our family values are a core part of who we are and yet those values are something we need to examine, and occasionally reject, if we want to be our authentic selves.
What family values are important to you? Which ones have you chosen to reject? Which ones have been hard to reject, even though you want to? That is where I am having the most challenge.
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