Power of Belonging

I'm excited to continue the conversation behind "Power 9", the set of lifestyle habits that research has found to be in common between the people of the Blue Zones.

Today I'd like to focus on a particularly important Lifestyle Habit at Willoughby Workspaces, #4: Belonging.

As human beings, it is our most natural need to belong. We are wired to crave connection, and as social creatures belonging to any sort of community, or "tribe" is how we thrive.

For those in the Blue Zones, the power of belonging had one commonality: "All but five of the 263 centenarians that were interviewed for the book, belonged to a faith-based community. Denomination doesn't seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times a month will add 4 - 14 years of life expectancy."

Religion, or faith-based communities serve an important purpose for belonging not just to a single community, but finding one's place in the world. Even more interestingly - having a spiritual connection, especially that's shared with others can help our brains become more resilient.

As our team at Willoughby Workspaces reflected on the importance of belonging, we realized that to us, it doesn't necessarily need to be limited to religious communities. There are so many ways that we find belonging and a sense of togetherness, even in the world we live in today. As vulnerability researcher Brené Brown says, belonging in its most simple form, is "the innate human desire to be part of something larger than ourselves." It's that simple.

If you need some inspiration, here are some of our favorite ways to find belonging: Fitness clubs & classes like Ohio Sport & Fitness and The Bar Athletics, book clubs, volunteer groups, and coworking spaces like ours. One way we're loving finding belonging lately? Our Willoughby Workspaces Facebook community (you can join us here!).

In the name of belonging - if you enjoy our blogs, please share it with a friend!