Belonging

When you start to dig into the research on human behaviour you see how much ‘a sense of belonging’ factors on so many levels of who we are. Belonging to a family, a group of friends, a football team, a church or a business shapes how we feel about ourselves and others.

My Irish mother said to me as a child, “show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.” Such groups define us, give us foundations to compare and contrast who we are and who we don’t want to be.

It’s not surprising that if we present ourselves to people we don’t know, a sense of foreboding may emerge. I believe this primal response is hard wired into us from cave-man days. If you weren’t part of a tribe, you were the enemy. Enemy = danger. That scenario still plays out in many parts of the world which we now know is more about ignorance than any real threat. However, never underestimate ignorance – it’s a fertile breeding ground for fear which manifests itself in many unsettling ways.

So here’s the facts. You are part of the universe and you do belong to it and it belongs to you. Professionally you have something to say and whether that’s with people you know or don’t know, recognise the fundamentals of the feelings you’re experiencing and you can overcome ignorance and re-define any irrational fear.

This is Upfront Guru’s touchstone; if you don’t fully address these primary fears, any other tools we give you will evaporate under the spotlight of presentation.

Belonging is a wonderful example of understanding the core of fear and once you do that, knowledge really is power!