5 Things Your Family History Can Reveal About You

Many people think they know their family history. They then hear a new story and it changes everything. Every person should research their family history, as they have a lot to learn from those who have gone before them. What are some benefits seen with learning this information? 

Sense of Identity

A person gets a sense of identity when they know their family history. They learn where they come from and more about their position within the family. One way to look at this is to consider the family history as a tapestry. Each thread in the tapestry is a story that has been handed down through the generations or information about a family member. When they come together, they create this beautiful work of art that is unique in every respect. Consider providing a loved one with the means to learn their family history. This great gift idea is sure to be treasured by anyone who receives it. 

Increased Resilience

People face challenges every day. It is how they overcome these challenges that define them. When a person is struggling, they can look to their family history and learn how their ancestors overcame tragedies and other difficult instances in their lives. They made it through these times, and this will give the person currently struggling the inspiration to keep going. They see that those before the have done so and this gives them the strength to push forward until they overcome the challenge they face. 

New Connections

People need to form connections to live fulfilling lives. When these connections are family members, the person finds they have people who love them unconditionally simply because of who they are. As a person learns their family history, they find connections they may not have known existed. Their third cousin once removed may live in the same neighbourhood and they never knew this. They can then connect with this individual and see if they have common interests or swap family stories. These connections may then lead to other new connections, and a person’s social network expands considerably. 

Increased Knowledge

As a person learns their family history, they also learn about this past. This makes them smarter people. For instance, a distant relative may have been involved in a major event in history. The person exploring the family history has little knowledge of this event, but learning they had a relative take part in it leaves them with a desire to learn more. They begin researching the event and discover other topics they wish to explore. The research they do as part of learning their family history increases their knowledge, and every person benefits from more knowledge. 

Personal Healing 

A person might have a difficult relationship with a family member. They wonder why they cannot get along with this person regardless of how hard they try. There may be clues to this family member’s personality in their history. For instance, a grandfather might press his grandchild to attend college even though the grandchild has no desire to further their education. While researching the family history, the grandchild might learn that the grandfather had to quit school to care for his aging parents and never got to return. He wants his grandchild to have opportunities he didn’t. Knowing this may make future conversations about college easier to handle and allows the grandchild to let go of the past difficulties in the relationship. 

Consider learning family history today. Those who do so find they see many benefits other than those mentioned above. This is one activity that will never be wasted time because there is much to be learned from those who have gone before us.