"The more I reflected on this, the more I realised that what we are witnessing may be a crisis of belonging."

These words refer to the impact of huge changes and job losses in higher education, but it strikes me that much of the article is relevant to sustainability, climate, biodiversity and many other aspects of the polycrisis.

I'm going to continue quoting this article by Nick Hulbert-Williams, a Chartered Coaching Psychologist and Professor of Applied Psychology at Edge Hill University:

Belonging can be defined in many ways, but I particularly like Thissen et al.’s definition in which belonging reflects “…being valued, needed or important for others in a specific context and the feeling of fitting in through shared or complementary features.”

In psychology, belonging is generally understood to be a fundamental human need […]. Decades of research have shown that feeling accepted, valued and connected to others is closely linked to wellbeing, motivation and resilience. When belonging is disrupted, people […] can begin to question their identity and place within a community.

Seen through that lens, many of the responses we are witnessing […] suddenly make more sense.

<snip>

I often talk to coaching clients and mentees about the importance of finding their tribe – a group of people, sometimes surprisingly small, with whom there is shared understanding, common purpose, and mutual trust. Tribes create that sense of individual belonging. They also provide psychological safety, creating spaces where ideas can be explored openly and where we can show up as our authentic selves.

As I read this, three things immediately come to mind:

1. The way in which people who feel left behind and that they no longer belong, are recruited by right wing extremists offering a simple analysis of their problems, a common purpose and mutual trust in adversity. Result: Dangerous groups that will never actually solve their members' problems (though they might enrich their leaders).

2. How local groups like development trusts, community gardens, conservation projects etc. often have a palpable sense of energy, achievement and belonging. And wondering how these approaches could be replicated and scaled to offer ubiquitous alternatives to right wing extremism. Result: Welcoming groups and communities that make people's lives better by tackling both the symptoms and causes of the polycrisis.

3. Given the state of the world, many people working on sustainability, climate, biodiversity, social justice etc, are struggling to believe that their work will make a worthwhile difference. How could practitioners and professionals come together in small groups to find a common purpose that feels achievable and up to the scale of the challenge? Result: Engaged groups with members operating inside, across and between organisations supporting each other to make meaningful progress.

I believe we need to pay more attention to belonging. Not just because of its potential as a tool for good and evil, but at a deeper level because belonging is a fundamental human need that is too often weak or absent from our lives.

What do you think?