How do you create community for your family? It’s that desire to find yourself and your “tribe” - to feel connected and secure in who you are and who those people are that support and connect with you.
Be the community you wish to have
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How will I create community...beyond the picket fence?
It’s a fear so many have when it comes to venturing out to a traveling, entrepreneurial or homeschooling lifestyle - “how will I find community?”
In this episode, we discuss building community and engagement. There are three key things that community - and my coaching - is all about.
Where are we this week?
We shared all about the RV Family Conference and the Fulltime Families Rally on the podcast this week - so many great stories, questions, and insights from our time with over 75 families who all have this common thread of full-time travel.
Madison, Florida was our last stop before we headed north to Nashville, TN, after our third year of wintering in Florida.
If you are looking at at full time RVing for your family, check out my course, 90 Day Family Road Trip. Even if you aren’t, but just want one epic summer vacation, this is the course for you!
And if you want to dive deeper, check out www.MamaSaysNamaste.com/ftf for some 1-1 coaching for your family to help you hit the road.
Check out our friends at Fulltime Families and Let’s Travel Family for community and ideas on where to go!
And, as always, follow us on our journey on Insta as the FieldTripGypsies!
If you aren’t getting the newsletter, last week was all about socialization and finding community on the road or in the homeschool realm. Check it out here
At the conference, we got feedback like this:
Our biggest questions revolved around our kids education and socialization. We were worried about taking them out of life as we know it so to speak. These fears all but went away the day we arrived at the conference, and saw how all the children were actually playing outside, and being kids. Not only that, but when talking to the kids in this lifestyle, they could look you in the eye and have a conversation with you, which typically doesn’t happen. Now our fears about the kids have been debunked, and we are working through scenarios for getting on the road. Thanks so much for all the fantastic information we received at this conference. Nick Fusaro
Don't fear commitment - life has seasons
When you travel, your social bubble expands to everywhere you travel. So no longer are you confined by zip code, age group, socioeconomic status, etc. We have no boundaries around who our community is. Get intentional about putting yourself in new situations where you do converse and talk. Sometimes we brush things off because we’re busy - we don’t make time for it. Yet when we are camping, we have those intentional times to walk around and meet others.
Even during the elections, we turned away from the media and went face-to-face with people all across the country. And we found there is still a whole lot of good out there. The more you make things personal and seek to understand, the more good you will tend to find.
Sometimes people hole up because they are nervous they won’t click with someone, and then you’re involved, invested and “stuck” long term. Yet when you travel, you aren’t committed. It’s a bit freeing, knowing you can meet anyone, and if you don’t jive with them, you simply move on.
This doesn’t just have to be for the traveler. Life is full of seasons, and people will come and go in your life. Every experience has the opportunity to help you grow in who you are and what you want, so don’t shy away from giving people a try. It may end up as only one conversation, or blossom into a powerful relationship for a season or even a lifetime.
Sometimes we’re simply afraid to get involved. It can be hard to navigate that line - are you helping or enabling, are you at risk of liability or being taken advantage of?
We are super open about who we are and what we do. So much has to do with our perspective. What is our intention? It’s our privilege to do whatever we can to engage and connect with others on this planet.
Keep the conversation going!
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3 Steps for Connection and Community
So what did our attendees really get out of the RV Family Conference? A lot of what I also have as critical in my coaching:
Validation:
Affirmation:
We need affirmation to say “yes, this is how you feel right now” and also to sometimes get an outside perspective on the good in us - our strengths and the positive impact we can have on others.
Accountability:
And we all need others to check in with us - to challenge us and help us grow, and keep us accountable to the goals and desires we voice that we want in our lives.
Are you present in real life?
The online world has opened us up so much - and that can be a positive and a negative. Does it enhance your day-to-day “real” life, or does it draw you away from the reality in front of you?
Although our culture may be all about independence, community is so critical. When I coach people, we go through strategy, application, action steps and more. Yet the biggest aspects are what all of community is about!
If you see “Community” as this opportunity to give back - a privilege to be a part of - this is so valuable. Can you validate where they are at the moment? Affirm that what they are feeling is okay? And offer accountability and support to let them know they aren’t alone in this?
If you aren’t feeling affirmed, if you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, and frazzled, sometimes the best thing you can do is to help another person. It feels good to help another, and you’ll notice that it has a positive impact in your own life as you get that endorphin boost of doing something good for someone else. This is a big aspect of my coaching.
At one point, we had a village. Now, we struggle to find even a single connection, and you see services like coaching and counseling on the rise as people so desperately seek it. More than the world wide web, we crave personal interaction.
Don't Wait - Create Your Community
Get out and be an active member. Create the community you crave. Don’t just wait for it to come to you, but go out and create it. Actively engage and put yourself out there. Introduce yourself to someone new. Give a little, and you never know what relationship - and community - may grow from it.
It doesn’t just happen on the road. It’s an opportunity you have in your hometown, your work, and more.
Your Weekly Challenge:
Look for ways to create community. Reach out validate, affirm, and create some accountability for others. BE the community you crave. Make an effort to simply say hi and open the door to conversation to someone new every day, and see how your community may grow.
The more we recognize those personality styles and those strengths and what triggers us, the more we can come back to how the uniqueness in each of us strengthens all of us.
Namaste
Questions or comments?
Personality styles, marriage/intimacy, parenting, education, minimalism or travel - what is pressing on your mind?
Or, hop on over to the Mama Says Namaste or Unschooling Families FB groups and ask your question there!
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