Reflecting the Reflection

After countless conversations with my parents, aunts and uncles, my genogram is complete. I figured out two things; the major role my family played in my career development, and how little I knew about the careers of family members.  I may not have known much about their occupations, but that is not the important information I need to reflect on in my career development. The values, beliefs, and the guidance they taught and instilled in me is what I need to reflect on and its impact on my career development.

The Genogram had me reflect on my family history, way past the scope of the career dimension. The Genogram made me realize the wide range of occupations of my family members.  In my reflection, I focused on the struggles my grandparents faced as immigrants, the strong academic background and values of my parents and the obstacles my aunt faced as a single mother. But, one person I never talked about or analyzed was myself. I never focused on how the combinations of all these factors merged together to make me the person I am today.

I realized my strong work ethic and values not only came from my parents, but all my family members.  I never realized how Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas mornings with my relatives helped shape my life.  I never realized that I learned the values and beliefs of all my family members while eating turkey and opening presents. I listened to stories about accomplishments and failures throughout the year that made me work harder and smarter each day.  I remember complaining to my parents about the long trips to my grandparents for the holidays when my friends were going to Florida or some other extravagant vacation.  My grandparents are gone now, and I would not have traded those trips for anything. 

I learned so much from my cousin with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  To this day, he is the person I think about when I get discouraged or have what I think are insurmountable challenges.   He has overcome so many challenges to become a Civil Engineer and is now engaged to be married.  It is clear to me now that all my family members have played a role in my career development.

In discussing the Genogram with my dad, I discovered that one of the reasons my dad changed jobs, when I was born, was to be closer to his family.  He wanted his children to be close to their grandparents so they could be exposed to the same work ethic and values that he learned.  I hope I can have the same opportunities with my career endeavors. 

My genogram reminded me of where I came from and where I am going.  This is a powerful gift.