Building a Strong Support System: Michael Chernow on Family, Marriage, & Lasting Relationships | Monday Moments - Kreatures Of Habit Podcast

Summary

Kreatures Of Habit Podcast Episode: Family Can Be a Support System
Host: Michael Chernow
Release Date: January 13, 2025

Introduction

In the episode titled Family Can Be a Support System, Michael Chernow delves deep into the pivotal role that family plays in an individual's journey toward happiness and success. Through personal anecdotes and reflective insights, Michael underscores how a supportive family environment fosters personal growth, resilience, and overall well-being.

The Paramount Importance of Family

Michael opens the conversation by emphasizing that family life stands above all other aspects of his life in terms of pride and fulfillment.

Michael Chernow (00:00): "If I had to point out one thing that I am most proud of, it is my family life. It just is plain and simple, like no contest. Nothing can even begin to compete with how powerful the success of my family has made on my happiness and success in life as a human being."

This statement sets the tone for the episode, highlighting family as the cornerstone of personal achievement and happiness.

Personal Reflections on Family Life

Michael shares his personal journey, revealing that his understanding and appreciation of family solidified only after building his own. Despite not having the most nurturing family environment during his childhood and teenage years, his marriage and subsequent family life transformed his perspective.

Michael Chernow (04:30): "I did not have the greatest family life as a kid specifically, but even through my teen years, it was only until I met my wife and started building a family of my own that I understood how powerful and important family and the support of family can be."

This transformation underscores the profound impact that a loving and committed family can have on an individual's development and outlook on life.

The Role of Communication and Commitment

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the pillars that uphold Michael's strong family life: communication and commitment. He attributes much of his marital success to the open and fearless communication he shares with his wife.

Michael Chernow (10:15): "Having that commitment to each other, that fearless style of communication is, I do believe the success of, or at least makes up a brunt of the success of our relationship."

Michael elaborates on how this open communication allows both partners to express difficult emotions and thoughts without fear of judgment or conflict, fostering a deeper and more resilient relationship.

Impact on Children and Creating a Positive Family Environment

Michael discusses how his healthy marital relationship sets a positive example for his children, creating a safe and loving environment for them to grow.

Michael Chernow (15:45): "Because we have this wonderful, healthy relationship, I really love hanging out. I want to hang out with my wife and kids more than anybody else by a long shot. I love being with my family. I love being with my wife and kids. It's my absolute favorite thing."

He emphasizes that demonstrating love and effective communication teaches his children the value of strong relationships and emotional intelligence, equipping them with the tools to build their own successful relationships in the future.

Balancing Self-Care with Family Commitments

While family is a priority, Michael underscores the importance of self-care in sustaining his ability to be present and supportive.

Michael Chernow (21:30): "I know that I also have to show up. And the best way that I show up for my wife and ultimately my sons is by taking care of myself too. But I don't sacrifice time with my wife and my sons to take care of myself. I get up super early in the morning, as you guys know, to do that I can be as selfish as I want from 5am to 7am."

By dedicating early morning hours to self-care, Michael ensures that he maintains his well-being without compromising valuable family time. This balance allows him to contribute positively to his family's dynamic while also nurturing his personal health and happiness.

Encouraging Others and Concluding Thoughts

In his concluding remarks, Michael offers heartfelt wishes to his listeners, expressing hope that they experience similar fulfillment through their own family lives. He acknowledges that building and maintaining a happy family can be challenging, but he affirms its profound rewards.

Michael Chernow (28:50): "I only can wish that you have a similar experience to mine in the building of a family. ... I do know for sure though that it is possible to, to have a wonderful family life that really fills your love cup. I know it's true. Cause I have it and I would just."

He also touches upon the broader theme of self-awareness and personal growth, reminding listeners that neglecting self-care can hinder one's ability to sustain meaningful relationships.

Michael Chernow (32:10): "If you're not taking care of yourself, that stuff is going to be really, really hard to sustain if you're not taking care of yourself."

Michael wraps up the episode with motivational energy, encouraging listeners to embrace the week ahead with positivity and determination.

Michael Chernow (35:15): "Go crush it this week. It's still the beginning of a new year, even though it's not New Year's, but it's still the beginning. Step on the gas, y'all. I love you. Share the podcast Peace."

Key Takeaways

Family as the Foundation of Success: A supportive and loving family environment is crucial for personal happiness and achievement.
Effective Communication: Open and fearless communication between partners strengthens marital bonds and sets a positive example for children.
Balancing Self-Care and Family: Maintaining personal well-being is essential to being a supportive family member.
Leading by Example: Demonstrating healthy relationship dynamics encourages children to develop their own strong and loving relationships.
Encouragement and Positivity: Embracing challenges with a positive mindset contributes to overall success and fulfillment.

Notable Quotes

Michael Chernow (00:00): "If I had to point out one thing that I am most proud of, it is my family life. It just is plain and simple, like no contest."
Michael Chernow (10:15): "Having that commitment to each other, that fearless style of communication is, I do believe the success of, or at least makes up a brunt of the success of our relationship."
Michael Chernow (21:30): "The best way that I show up for my wife and ultimately my sons is by taking care of myself too."
Michael Chernow (28:50): "I do know for sure though that it is possible to, to have a wonderful family life that really fills your love cup."
Michael Chernow (35:15): "Go crush it this week. It's still the beginning of a new year... Step on the gas, y'all."

Conclusion

In this heartfelt episode, Michael Chernow eloquently conveys the indispensable role of family in shaping a fulfilling and successful life. Through personal stories and thoughtful reflections, he offers listeners a blueprint for cultivating strong familial bonds grounded in communication, commitment, and mutual support. Whether listeners are navigating their own family dynamics or aspiring to build a supportive household, Michael's insights provide valuable guidance and inspiration.

For more insights on building effective routines and habits that lead to success, tune into the next episode of the Kreatures Of Habit Podcast.

Transcript

A (0:00)

If I had to point out one thing that I am most proud of, it is my family life. It just is plain and simple, like no contest. Nothing can even begin to compete with how powerful the success of my family has made on my happiness and success in life as a human being. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, people of all ages, shapes and sizes, this is Monday Moments. Happy Monday, a short form podcast. This podcast is going to run anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes where I will be sharing things that have inspired me over the week. It could be as simple as a new piece of technology, a book that I'm reading, a podcast that I've listened to, and it experience that I had that really motivated me to want to write it down to share with you just little bits of content that I can convey to you in a fun, easy and short form way to give you some inspo in the beginning of the week. So sit back, relax and enjoy this Monday moment. I want to talk today about a conversation I just finished having that filled me up so much. And that conversation really was about the power of family. I don't necessarily mean your biological family, although it could be, but more about the family that you create, the family that you build. Now, I know not everybody listening to this podcast has begun building a family. I know not everybody listening to this podcast has a great experience with family that they have built or are in the middle of building. I do, however, feel it necessary to share about how powerful and how much of an impact my family has made in my life and happiness. The power of family is so, so strong if it's done well. And I'm no expert, but I can tell you that I've been married for 17 years and with my wife for 20 years, been together for 20 years, half my life actually, which is crazy to think about. But if I had to say, out of all the things I've done in my time here on this planet, if I had to point out one thing that I am most proud of, it is my family life. It just is plain and simple, like no contest. Nothing can even begin to compete with how powerful the success of my family has made on my happiness and success in life as a human being. So what am I saying about this? Well, I had a conversation with a guy a little bit older than me. I don't know how old he was. I think he, I would argue to say he's probably in his late 60s, but he looks like he's in his 50s, early 50s. But this guy who you're going to hear from too, because it was a podcast that we did. But this guy was. The energy was infectious. He was just this shining, bright light the minute he walked through the door here. And I just knew we were going to have an unbelievable conversation. And I didn't know the conversation was really going to be harnessed, and the footings of the conversation were going to be about this power of family. But that's where it ended up. We ended up talking about the power of family. And, you know, he's been in his marriage for a very long time, and he has these two wonderful kids that are men now that he was so excited to talk about, and he just lit up, and I just felt such identification with him. I felt such identification with him about the energy that he had when I saw him light up like a Christmas tree when he talked about his wife and his kids. And so I want to talk with you guys about it a little bit because. And I know it's not relevant for everyone, and again, I do want to. I'm not oblivious to the fact that family's really, really hard for a lot of people. Trust me. I did not have the greatest family life as a kid specifically, but even through my teen years, it was only until I met my wife and started building a family of my own that I understood how powerful and important family and the support of family can be. I owe, I believe, the success to my marriage with my wife. I owe that to, well, her, like, unconditional love and ability to deal with my insane ass. But our communication together, our fearless communication together, even if we're not comfortable saying something, something that really doesn't feel good to say to your partner, something that you feel like your partner will potentially get mad at you or on, or feelings hurt when they hear what you have to say. Having that commitment to each other, that fearless style of communication is, I do believe the success of, or at least makes up a brunt of the success of our relationship. And because we have this wonderful, healthy relationship, I really love hanging out. I want to hang out with my wife and kids more than anybody else by a long shot. I love hanging out with my family. I love being with my wife and kids. It's my absolute favorite thing. My absolute favorite thing, period. And I think it started with the communication commitment that my wife and I had together. And then because we have that great communication, we have created this example of what a great marriage looks like for our kids. And that makes them comfortable and feel safe and understand that what, you know, starting to see and understand what love is. Like I can't describe how important it is in my life and it is my priority. It is my priority. And I know that I also have to show up. And the best way that I show up for my wife and ultimately my sons is by taking care of myself too. But I don't sacrifice time with my wife and my sons to take care of myself. I get up super early in the morning, as you guys know, to do that I can be as selfish as I want from 5am to 7am So I guess I'd want to leave you guys with two things in this Monday moment. One, I only can wish that you have a similar experience to mine in the building of a family. And if you're not in that experience, if you're not, if you don't have that experience with your current life or your current situation or you've had bad ones, I'm sorry. I do know for sure though that it is possible to, to have a wonderful family life that really fills your love cup. I know it's true. Cause I have it and I would just. And for those of you who do have that, you know exactly what I'm talking about. There's nothing more in life that I want than to be married to my wife till the end of days and be best friends with my sons and do really cool things as a family together. Maybe even be in business with my sons like I would. There's nothing more in life I'd want than that. I just feel like sharing that was important to do today. Cause I don't think we hear enough about that. I don't think we hear enough about happy marriages and supportive family life. You know. And then the other piece of that that I've spoken, you know, an ungodly amount about over the years that you guys have definitely heard me talk about is this idea that if you're not taking care of yourself, that stuff is going to be really, really hard to sustain if you're not taking care of yourself. Having a loving, caring, supporting family is going to be hard because you're going to be. You're going to be. You're going to be what? You'll walk around with self centered fear, which means you're basically thinking about yourself in a negative way all the time or more of the time than you have to think of the people that you love. And I've had a lot of experience with people like that around me. That self centered fear where, you know, people walk around with this negative mindset because they don't take care of themselves because they don't eat right, they don't train hard, they don't work out at all, they don't. They don't sleep well. So I just, I wanted to leave you that with that today. These are these short and sweet little pieces of content on Mondays to inspire you. I hope you got some of that energy that I'm feeling right now, and I wish you guys the absolute best week. Go crush it this week. It's still the beginning of a new year, even though it's not New Year's, but it's still the beginning. Step on the gas, y'all. I love you. Share the podcast Peace.