3 reasons why community is important for a meaningful life ??

When I started my entrepreneurial journey, I tried to reflect back on my experiences to see if there was any common theme throughout my life. I discovered that community has always been a major part of my life. Since young, I've had the privilege to not only join communities as a member but also to develop them from scratch.

I'm always in awe of how powerful communities could be. I have seen real cases where communities bend government regulations and create a big change through crowdfunding or petitions. For instance, Fans of the K-Pop band BTS, known as “Army”, raised over USD 1 million to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. When a group of people with common interests or goals come together, they can make the impossible possible.

Naturally, I'm constantly curious to learn best practices for community building. But before digging deep into the Hows of community development and engagement in another post, I wanted to first find out the Whys.

Whether it’s for business, the environment, sports, religion, or pure fun - I am surrounded by people who are active in not only 1, but 2-3 different communities. I want to know why is community essential to their lives. Why do some of us dedicate our precious time to building communities? How does being part of a community help us live a more meaningful life?

Here are 3 main reasons that I found:

1. Being part of a community makes us feel less alone

Our society is designed to be community-based. Be it bible study, futsal, or professional clubs - most of us grow up as part of various communities. In the modern world, as we depend more and more on social media and technology to interact with one another as compared to face-to-face interactions, research has shown that loneliness is on the rise, affecting on average 33% of adults worldwide.

The consequences of loneliness are serious. Aside from reducing lifespan comparable to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day, loneliness is also associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression, and anxiety.

In one of the most viewed TED Talks, Robert J. Waldinger, the Director of the longest study on happiness, concluded that good, strong relationships are the most important contributor to a happy and healthy life.

When I spoke with Dian Hasan and Cynthia Satrya-Hasan , Co-Founders of Coworkinc and Impact Hub Jakarta , both seasoned community builders, they too acknowledged that "community is the essence of a human being. As social beings, we cannot be alone. Being in a community is a must, and it’s what makes you human. Indonesians especially are communal - unlike in the West where people tend to be more individualistic. Therefore, we have to be connected to and invest in human relationships."

2. Community involvement helps us with personal development

I'm optimistic that if you want to grow your skills, knowledge, network, or even spirituality, you can probably find a community for that.

Without community gatherings and networking sessions, I probably wouldn't have met a lot of the people whom I work with today. Whenever I'm stuck on a business problem, I could ask my community of fellow Founders for their advice. When I want to feel inspired, I'd organize events with my community, featuring notable speakers to pick their brains.

There's an endless list of ways we can develop ourselves better with the support of a community. Here are some inspiring examples:

• Ron Lal enjoys being a part of communities as he could exchange perspectives with people globally, which would help him solve problems faster and better
• Georgina Ariela Warganegara feels that becoming involved in a community that aligns with her mission pushes her to reach her goals, in addition to enhancing her social and communication skills.
• Regina, who's also active in multiple communities, said that there was a period when she felt completely stuck. When she first joined her church community, she was welcomed by positive friends who gave her the strength and practical tools to untangle her problems. This was especially helpful for her because she had hit a dead end.

3. Community gives us a platform to contribute to others

In the book The Power of Meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith wrote “leading a meaningful life.. corresponded with being a “giver,” and its defining feature was connecting and contributing to something beyond the self".

A Community provides the opportunity where we can use our strengths to help other people in need and contribute to something that is bigger than ourselves. At Apiary Academy , I get to know so many generous individuals who are willing to share their time and knowledge with the Indonesian Product community as a Facilitator, even though their schedule as Product Professionals is tight.

For me, managing communities gives me a larger medium to gather and connect people through events. It gives me great joy when people in my community make new friends and learn something new.

The beautiful thing is, we can always find a way to help someone in the community, whatever our strength is. If you have more time, you can spend it volunteering in a shelter. If you have more money, you can support your local communities through donation. If you have tremendous work experience, you can mentor others.

The past 3 years prove that life is full of uncertainties - a pandemic, massive layoffs, and a war happened within a short period of time. Without a community to lean on, life would be lonelier and tougher for all of us. As Regina said, "when we're in a good place, we can help others in the community. When we're in a bad place, we can allow ourselves to receive help from others". Being part of a community and actively contributing to help others can lead us to live a healthier, happier and more meaningful life.

?? Questions for you to reflect on: Think about the communities that you're a part of. How have they affected your life? Is there 1 simple action that you can take to contribute more to fellow community members?

Thanks for reading! ????♀?

I'm Jess, currently building Indonesia's Product Ecosystem Apiary Academy , also running Startup Grind Indonesia Jakarta Chapter. I'm attempting to write every month to learn about the subjects I'm interested in and practice my writing skills.

Feel free to connect with me on Linkedin! I'd appreciate any constructive feedback and topic suggestions from you :)

See you next time!

?? Special thanks to:

• Mama C and Papa D! If you're looking to join a community, they're the right people to talk to. Visit them at Impact Hub Jakarta . Dian Hasan is also running fun, guided urban tours at the Other Side Experience.
• Ron Lal - if you're looking to solve complex problems in your company, talk to him and Momentum Mind Lab for a design thinking workshop
• Georgina and Regina :)
• Miranda & Cynthia for reviewing & the support