Belonging is another fundamental human need and we rarely talk about it in public. In Europe we are supposed to be individually independent. But at the same time we long for having people who support us, who approve what we do, who we get inspired from and whom we inspire, people who make this world a safe and a worth-living place for us. It allows for a deep connection, for acceptance and helps us enrich our relationships. The latter make us feel happier in life, according to the Grant Harvard Study.

So how can we satisfy this need for belonging without being dependent on other people’s opinions or desire to have friends for a sake of having friends?

A trick is to belong to a group that you consciously choose to belong to. Most of people tend to keep up with their childhood and school friends for life. That is fine. As long as they are consciously re-considered in your adulthood and if they are the ones you want to belong to. Mirror-neurons that we all have, allow everyone who surrounds us long enough, to influence us. So choose wisely who you want to be close to you.

Make sure you have people around you who inspire you. Who you want to be like, who make you grow, laugh, who are those role models you want to have in life. If around you are only people who look up to YOU, you need to reconsider your network of friends.

So I suggest you make a revision of where your energy goes in term of friends and family members who bring you up or let you down. Then make conscious choices what you want to do with those who are no longer your ‘conscious friends’ and once you do that with awareness, those ties will loosen up and you will find new possibilities and time to make new and worthwhile friends and find networks of people that enrich you rather than deplete you.

I wish you a great week and look forward to catching up with many of you, as I get inspiration from you BIG TIME!

With love,

Darya