I like all the responses people have given here. A counselor once asked me that question, shortly after I divorced my husband of 20+ years. It had been an unhappy marriage in which I stayed in order to raise our daughter in a nice home. I answered the counsellor then, "The ability to take care of myself." That is still true today.
I worked very hard to gain this independence.
Yes, family is important, but both my parents have passed away, and my daugther is grown and has her own family, living far away from me, though we visit when we can. My few true friends are constant and abiding to me, and I value that also, but my one priority is still being able to provide for myself financially, and maintain positive mental health.
Patty