The Reliants Project #49
How networks shape our lives
Here’s a collection of nuggets about how networks shape your wellbeing, relationships and community to help you actively cultivate yours. There are a few extra tidbits thrown in to compensate for the radio silence :].
Wellbeing
Which pie chart best describes your typical day? The Benefits of Diversifying Your Social Portfolio discusses recently published research about how Relational diversity in social portfolios predicts well-being.
“As Michael Norton, one of the authors of the study observed, “we try different things with new people, and that can be good for us.” We need an entire community to feel whole. Being around different people brings out different sides of our own identity.”
We Need to Talk About Social Health discusses the need to reframe the issue of loneliness from being an individual issue to a collective public health issue. They also highlight the important role of education in helping to break the intergenerational cycle. They include a helpful exercise to help uncover unconscious biases we each have about being social.
Relationships
Men, guard your friendships mentions Max Dickin’s work, which I’ve shared previously, as well as this very apt analogy for male friendship:
“Men like to think that because our friendships are slow-growing, studded with barbs, and require little tending, they are durable, like a drought-resistant hedge. But in reality they’re terribly fragile; untended, they often simply shrivel up. They may seem flexible, but they’re not constructed to withstand much in the way of change.”
Max himself has a recent column in The Sunday Times entitled Can’t talk to your awful boss? They might be lonely too (paywall).
Community
If you’re looking to hire someone for your community function, or you’re a community person who has been affected by layoffs, The Community Directory is for you. They also have links to job boards and other resources for the community curious.
In case you missed it, The Relationships Project has launched The Relationships Collective. You can read about their 2 year plan here. I love their ambition:
“The Collective will support with our efforts to turbocharge the growth of the field of relationship-centred practice. Together we’ll be advocating, networking, convening, coordinating and tackling the many challenges and opportunities for making relationships the first mile, not the extra mile.”
One of the team members behind The Relationships Project is on a mission to learn from intergenerational bridge builders across Europe. Over the years, I’ve spoken with many of you about the importance of making friends with people from different age groups. It’s getting increasingly hard:
“Data shows people of different ages are living side-by-side and seldom interacting, or increasingly in entirely different postcodes and regions all together…This is reflected in our relationships: we are less likely than ever before to have any sort of relationship — close or acquaintance — with someone from a different generation outside of our family unit.”
Reach out to her if you think you can help with her work!
Resources
Links to the most commonly used content:
The Reliants Project Library: Recommended resources for the community curious
The Reliants Project newsletter archive: Links I’ve shared in previous newsletters
The Reliants Project concepts: diagrams that explain some of the most important concepts about networks
About The Reliants Project
Reliant is my word for a person that someone depends on, an essential component of our social networks. With each edition, I’ll share useful nuggets about how networks shape your wellbeing, relationships, and community to help you actively cultivate yours. Whether you want to make better introductions, build better social products and services, or activate networks to make an impact in the world, let me help you reach your goals.
You can find more about The Reliants Project here.