Monday Morning Motivational Message

What does it mean to belong? 

Would you tell me about your family, or your job, or your softball team? Would you describe your relationships with your friends, your colleagues, or your God?

Would it ever occur to you that before you can belong to something external, that you need to have the courage to belong to something internal, like yourself? That your value and worth are not something to be negotiated with another person but are defined by you. That in order to truly belong to yourself, sometimes in life, your values, morals, and beliefs, will cause you to stand apart from society.

According to an article written for Making Work Absolutely Human (Hancock - 3/28/2019), belonging means a place where you fit in, and a feeling of attraction for a particular place. "Belonging is the space where you can be yourself, thrive, and feel good."

But why is belonging important? According to Hancock, being part of something gives us:

 - A connection to how we are designed as humans.

 - The ability to become our best selves.

 - Protection for our well-being.    

There are many reasons to belong to groups and organizations that we believe make us better. But we need to continually evaluate those alliances and relationships to ensure they are congruent with what we value so we aren't blindly following an association because we always have.  

Check out the video below from social scientist, Brene Brown about what it means to have an intimate sense of belonging to yourself.

Also, please leave me a comment about your thoughts on what it means to belong.