On Homeostasis, Iteration, and Change in Family Systems

On Homeostasis, Iteration, and Change in Family Systems

Why Slow and Steady Is Often Best

The title of this post uses some words that are a little longer or less familiar than the kind of vocabulary regular readers are used to seeing from me.

I pride myself on writing and speaking in terms that are easy enough for most people to follow, and I typically resist the urge to try to sound like I’m smarter than everyone else.

But occasionally, there’s a word that must be used to make a point and so I will use it.

As usual I’ll spend plenty of time explaining the words, what they mean, and why I think they’re important to the subject at hand.

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It seems to me that part of what’s involved beneath the surface is an inherent resistance to change, and a desire to maintain whatever equilibrium is in place.

It also brings up inertia, one of Newton’s Laws that states that a body at rest tends to stay at rest, if I remember my high school physics correctly.

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That’s when I realized how powerful this idea could be, if I could use the “project” idea to explain it to families I work with.

Last fall in Ideas on Dealing with the Family Crap, I wrote about getting families into the habit of Convening Regularly And Productively (C.R.A.P.)

Coming back together as a “project update” meeting, where we assess the latest iteration of where we are makes sense to me.

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