In the beginning of Roberta M. Gilberts textbook Extraordinary Relationships: A New Way of Thinking About Human Interactions (1992), she argues “In the realm of the purely personal - after food, water, and shelter - the quality of relationships most often determines the quality of life” (p. 3). I believe this statement perfectly sums up how vital and necessary human relationships are for human life, and the strong impact they play on having a positive and meaningful life. There were several concepts presented throughout chapters 1 - 12. They were each of equal importance and each greatly impacts the understanding of relationships. In order to have a purposeful life and a greater understanding of relationships, there are many crucial concepts that must be understood, three of them are differentiation of self, thinking systems, and the relationship pattern of cutoff.
Differentiation of Self …show more content…
After reading the chapter I could definitely see how essential the concept is to understanding relationships. One factor that stayed with me is how we as adults can approve our level of differentiation of self. In my opinion this point is extremely important because many may think they are stuck at their level of differentiation, in all reality, with hard work, they can improve their levels of differentiation. Reflecting on my own level of differentiation, I would say that my level lies right in the middle. Throughout the years I’ve noticed I have been better able to separate my thoughts from my feelings. Saying this, I do also believe that there are many aspects that I could improve on. I still continue to second guess many of the important decisions in my life. Like Gilbert’s states, with hard work I can improve this. I can proudly say that by now having a better understanding on differentiation of self, I have made my first steps in understanding human relationships and human interactions all
Differentiation of Self …show more content…
After reading the chapter I could definitely see how essential the concept is to understanding relationships. One factor that stayed with me is how we as adults can approve our level of differentiation of self. In my opinion this point is extremely important because many may think they are stuck at their level of differentiation, in all reality, with hard work, they can improve their levels of differentiation. Reflecting on my own level of differentiation, I would say that my level lies right in the middle. Throughout the years I’ve noticed I have been better able to separate my thoughts from my feelings. Saying this, I do also believe that there are many aspects that I could improve on. I still continue to second guess many of the important decisions in my life. Like Gilbert’s states, with hard work I can improve this. I can proudly say that by now having a better understanding on differentiation of self, I have made my first steps in understanding human relationships and human interactions all