Meet and Discuss

One thing that virtually everyone of us has in common is the desire to prosper, progress and grow. It is a uniform desire in every human. In the same way, we all loathe any appearance of discouragement or delay in achieving this progress, regardless of who it is coming from. We just want to keep moving forward in life.

When a person or group begins to stand in our way with progress, it is not a pleasant experience. If the individual is easily dispensable, then the next line of action would be to cut them off and let them go if that is what will get us back on track. It is usually an easy decision.

But what of in situations where this hindrance is coming from family members. Say a father or mother, or even the siblings. What if it is coming from the whole family?

This adds a whole new level of complexity to the equation making it very difficult to solve. It also becomes a burden when you seek advice and realise that almost anything could be a good move and at the same time anything could be a bad move. It calls for critical thinking to arrive at a decision with minimal negative results.

To pursue growth or to pursue family peace? A tough one indeed.

In my opinion and experience, the first step is to calmly explain our position to the family.
In doing this, we must ensure to communicate appropriately and explicitly, leaving no room for misunderstanding and ambiguity.
Ensure that your reasons, desires and wishes are well understood. At the same time, pay close attention to their own reasons and explanation.

Such a meeting should not be approached with a mindset to argue or "be right". Rather, you should be willing to change of their own reasons supercedes yours but at the same time, you should be prepared to exhaust your explanations so that everyone leaves the meeting well informed on the pros and cons of each decision.

At the end of the meeting, it should be clear to everyone what the most correct course of action should be. Whether or not it is accepted is entirely up to the individuals.
But for you, seeking progress, if the best course of action as evidenced by the meeting is to pursue your growth, then I advise you do that. Wether or not they are in support should not deter you again.

If on the other hand, it is evident that allowing the family win is the right course of action, then please, re-strategize your goals.

If pursuing growth, even at the expense of the family's decision, it is still important to not end things in a bad way. Try to continue to behave amicably even after the disagreement because in the end, family remains family and when the chips are down, when we have no one to run to, that is our destination.