Where you're raised affects your worldview. Did you grow up surrounded by friends and family, or were you a stranger to the people who lived next door?
Did you have specific favorite places you went to on a regular basis, be it church or some other club or volunteering activity? Did you spend a lot of time at home?
Did you walk, or did you drive everywhere?
Keys to your future hide in your past
As we look at solutions for our epidemic of disconnection, I find myself wondering just how much of the issue is wrapped up in how we see the world around us—how we were raised, and what perspective that gives us on the world.
I grew up more fortunate than I could appreciate—two hard-working middle-class parents who put family before everything else and did everything they could to give me and my sister the best life possible. We were truly blessed.
And, at the same time, we all rode the societal wave toward a focus on the nuclear family—spending most of our time with each other, and not as much time connecting with neighbors or participating in civic activities together.
The isolation I felt in the suburbs growing up had a major influence over my views, which paved the way for my passion in coworking and community spaces.
What can your childhood home teach you?
If you're headed back to where you grew up this holiday season, you may find opportunities there to unveil parts of yourself that will help you grow into who you want to become going forward.
You can ask yourself questions like:
- What was I into when I was younger, that I may have lost track of over the years?
- What am I proud of having achieved during my childhood and adolescence?
- What do I know now that I would have benefitted so much from knowing back then?
- What do I want to bring forward to the home life I am building toward?
- What's different about the approach I want to take to the home life I'm building?
As we look ahead, reflecting on these questions can help us approach the future we build for ourselves with a greater sense of intention. The better we understand how we feel about where we've been, the more confidently we can move forward—bringing with us all we're grateful for, and all we are looking forward to creating.
Print my free mini playbook and bring it with you
I whipped up a tiny little foldable playbook you can print out and bring with you as you head out of town. It offers some prompts and plenty of space for you to write and reflect.
Give it a spin:
Coming Home (to Yourself) for the Holidays - Printable Mini Playbook
Going home for the holidays? Print this mini guide and jot down your reflections as you spend time in the place where so much of your worldview was shaped.
You'll also be invited to look ahead—to the home life you want to build, and how your upbringing will inform how you approach it.
Four half-pages on two sheets of double-sided paper. Print and jot!