Introduction
The external world and relations with people play a critical role in every individual’s life. They shape his/her behaviors, daily activities, emotions, mood, and ability to succeed. For this reason, it is vital to understand interactions with others and how they contribute to the quality of life, success, and personal development. An eco map can be a perfect tool to conduct this investigation. It helps to visualize all daily interactions by listing the closest people or individuals who remain in contact with a person daily, analyzing the nature of relations, and making conclusions about how they can be improved.
People and Places
My eco map includes the five main people who play the most important roles in my life. These people are my mother, my husband, my daughter, my son, and my youngest sister. These people are fundamental to my life, and I interact with them every day. The eco map shows that I have strong bonds with these individuals. They always help and motivate me, and I trust them. For instance, I communicate with my mom daily, and she listens to my problems and shares them with me. My husband provides similar support to me; we talk, trust each other and share emotions. My children are caring, and I feel better interacting with them. They can sometimes challenge me because of differences in views on particular issues. However, our interactions are positive as we find common solutions and encourage each other. My sister is also vital to me as we meet each other almost every day and have small talks.
There are also places where I am connected. At home, I feel completely relaxed, happy, and motivated by my family. The second place is the local cafe as we often visit it. I could benefit from going there more often as it helps me to refresh and feel better. The third place is the local mall; it allows me to forget about my troubles and enjoy shopping. The hospital is the fourth place, which is essential for my daily interactions. It might sometimes be stressful for me because of possible illnesses or diseases and the need to treat them. This place is not always rewarding; however, I always feel support from my close people. My work is the next place which is vital for my daily interactions. It might be sometimes challenging; however, it provides me with positive emotions when necessary.
Values
I value honesty, support, communication, and being ready to help a person in difficult times. When I look at my eco map, I see that these values are shared by my close people. They are always ready to help, we build our communication based on trust, and we try to provide as much support as it is possible. The eco map does not reflect that I value friendship as all mentioned individuals are from my family, but I would like to acquire more true friends as they are important to me.
Decisions
I make decisions by discussing them with people from the eco map. For instance, we discuss almost all financial aspects with my husband as it makes me feel more confident. My mother can also help me and provide a piece of advice. Decisions about shopping or buying some clothes can be made by talking to the mother or sister. I think the eco map shows everyone who plays a significant role in making my everyday choices or solutions that might impact my future life.
Congruence
I believe most of my decisions are consistent with my values. As far as I appreciate trust, mutual support, and openness, I try to avoid solutions that can harm others. Moreover, as I stated previously, most decisions are discussed with my family members. It proves that I do not like concealing some aspects of my life from close people. For this reason, I am sure that my choices are consistent with my values and are shared by people who are important to me.
Self-Care
Furthermore, I accept the importance of self-care and the necessity to improve several aspects of my life. For instance, by focusing on my relations with my sister, I can be more informed about the values appreciated by her and younger people. It is also vital for relations with children as they belong to another generation, and sometimes it is difficult for me to understand them. By trying to understand my children better, I can be more authentic and congruent with my values, as it will lead to cultivating higher trust levels between us.
Awareness
I also think that it is vital to focus on cultivating my awareness levels. For instance, self-care can start by trying to reduce stress by avoiding visiting undesired places (Grise-Owens et al., 2016). Moreover, I can minimize the number of conflicts with children because of the difference in views by learning how to make compromises and negotiate (Miller et al., 2020). I think these steps might help me to become a more congruent person and always follow my values. Moreover, cultivating awareness levels will enhance relations with my close people.
Conclusion
Altogether, my eco map shows that I am in good relations with my close people, and they are important to me. They share most of my values and reduce the level of stress in difficult situations. Most places I visit are comfortable for me; however, I should try to avoid some less pleasant locations to feel better. As part of my self-care, it is essential to focus on avoiding conflicts with children and cultivating better relations with the younger generation. It would help me to be more congruent and authentic.
References
Grise-Owens E., Miller, J., & Eaves, M. (Eds.). (2016). The A-to-Z self-care handbook for social workers and other helping professionals. The New Social Worker Press.
Miller, J. J., Poklembova, Z., Grise-Owens, E., & Bowman, A. (2020). Exploring the self-care practice of social workers in Slovakia: How do they fare?International Social Work, 63(1), 30–41. Web.
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