How to Find Community: 5 Friendly Suggestions
Every day on Facebook in Women Living Without Limits and other Facebook groups that I’m a part of I find women that are struggling with loneliness and with making friends in adulthood.
There’s no doubt that as we age, community can be harder to find. And that’s why I have 1:1 coaching programs that challenge my clients to find community and to discover ways to end their loneliness.
However, before we embark on finding community, first let’s define it. What is community?
There are three definitions of community in the American Heritage Online Dictionary:
1. A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government.
Examples include Americans, Hondurans, Japanese, etc.
2. The district or locality in which such a group lives
Examples include Arizonans, neighbors, specific tribal affiliations
3. A group of people having common interests
Examples include:
Fans of a Sports Team
Star Wars fans
Hikers
People who love books
Happy Hours
Moms of teenagers
Etc.
We will be using community in the third sense. A group of people having common interests.
Why do we need community?
Ever since COVID (or in some cases our early 20’s) community has seemed more elusive.
We have fears. Fears of getting sick. Fears of getting in arguments with people of different political beliefs. Fear of rejection. Fear of wasting our time or energy. And so instead of engaging those fears, we disassociate, and remain in our small worlds.
Also building community is a muscle, talking to strangers takes some practice. Putting yourself out there takes courage, motivation, and skills.
But we know from extensive study on the topic, that community/friendships are vitally important to our mental health and wellness. As part of the human race, each of us needs a space to belong. We need to feel connections. We are already members of communities whether we know it or not: your family, your neighborhood, your work colleagues all make up various communities in your life.
It’s important to note that communities constantly change. We move in and out of a particular community depending on varying circumstances from changing jobs, moving, death, differences of opinion, changing stages of life, changing needs, and growing interests in other areas, etc.
Community is THE PLACE to find comfort during difficult times.
When things aren’t going well in one community, we always have the option to try a different community. Connection with others helps us to stay balanced and find neutral or positive mental health outcomes.
I can tell you that at varying times I’ve felt very lonely.
I remember before COVID and when I initially started working for myself, a number of my closest friends moved away from Phoenix. I didn’t have a work community anymore, and my friends were moving across the country (literally). I had just become a mom, and I lacked the connections I once had.
And to know me, you know that my teens, 20’s, and early 30’s were times of so much community.
* I loved going to happy hour with my gal friends,
* I stayed in touch with my friends from college,
* I went to church,
* I was in the Peace Corps, to name some examples.
All of those communities shaped me, but during that season where I watched my communities dissipate, I struggled. My mental health deteriorated. And I hit an unexpected season of loneliness.
Luckily, I had the tools and knew the strategies for finding new communities. I literally built them around me, and now I have multiple communities where I feel supported, loved, and involved.
And that’s what I hope to teach you today. Here are five strategies for building community.
1. Talk to strangers. One of my closest friends from college who I am still friends with today, I met by picking up her pen cap and giving it back to her. It really is that easy. I’ve met people at parties, in lines to movies, at the bar, and all because I had the courage to say hello, make a connection, and introduce myself. You never know who you will connect with.
2. Search for people that have commonalities with you. When I didn’t know where else to go for friends, I went to places where people shared the same ideas. So church, the gym, meetup groups, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, book clubs, etc. have all been places where I’ve found friends and other communities to be a part of.
3. Join Facebook groups. I may be a little biased as I facilitate Women Living Without Limits, but from my own experience I have met all kinds of amazing people in Facebook groups. Also, I’ve specifically held events to build community like the Virtual Happy Hour, Vision Boarding Made Easy, and now the Virtual Book Club. Outside of this group, there are groups for people from your states like Arizona Girl Gang, Age Groups, and even people who love Peloton or Costco.
4. Do good. Become part of a board or community service group. Walk dogs at the shelter, serve food to the homeless, or organize clothes closets for foster children. Whatever makes you happy. One of my best friends I met because I volunteered to serve on a board in my church. It was actually not the world’s greatest experience EXCEPT that I got to meet a life long friend and so that made it the world’s greatest experience.
5. Get to Know the Friends of Your Friends. I have made several friends thanks to attending parties of friends or through “being set up” by friends. Again, some of my closest friends to this day I met hanging out with other friends. I guess that old saying, “Birds of a feather…” is quite accurate.
I’d love to hear if you have other suggestions for finding community in the comments.
And I encourage you to take the first steps. You’re lucky if you’ve had a community find you. It’s usually the other way around. You’re probably going to have to make some effort.
Also, if you really don’t know how to start or where to find them, coaching is a great way to start taking steps.
We all know the importance of finding your community, and a coach can be there to help you brainstorm, set a goal, take action steps, and hold you accountable to taking steps to meet your community. I have coached on this very topic several times.
So, schedule a Discovery Call today to see if working together is right for you to help you find the communities you deserve.