Designing Connection and Community
I’ve been thinking a lot about community lately. The intentional kind. The kind you design. Because community, like anything meaningful in our lives, doesn’t just happen. It’s built. Shaped. Nurtured over time.
This shift in thinking was sparked, in part, by reading Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. The book is about applying design thinking to your life, not waiting for clarity, but creating it through action.
At its core, the message is simple: Get curious. Talk to people. Try stuff. Tell your story. When I think about connection and community through that lens, something clicks. Community isn’t something you just find. It’s something you design.
Start with curiosity. Instead of asking: Where do I belong? Ask: What communities am I curious about? What conversations do I want to be part of? Who is doing work that energizes me?
The most meaningful connections come from showing up with genuine interest.
Develop your community: Don’t find your passion, develop your passion.There are many possible communities you could be part of, each offering something different, each shaping you in different ways.
Your community might span: Your vocation or professional work, academic or learning spaces, social or civic engagement, faith or spirituality, alumni networks, creative pursuits, family and close relationships
Actively build and participate in the ones that matter to you:
Reach out to someone whose work resonates with you
Show up to an event, even if you’re not sure what you’ll get from it
Volunteer your time
Start a small gathering around a shared interest
Follow up after a conversation that felt meaningful
These are small moves. Prototypes, really. And that’s the point.
A sense of belonging. A prototype is a low-stakes way to explore a possibility. Community works the same way. You don’t commit to a community for life on day one. You try things.
Each experience gives you data, not in a formal sense, but in how it feels:Did this energize me? Did I feel a sense of belonging? Did I contribute in a meaningful way?
Over time, patterns emerge. And slowly, what started as experiments begins to feel like home.
A well-designed life is a connected life. At the end of the day, life design is about engaging in the process. Showing up regularly. Staying in touch. Following through. A monthly gathering. A standing call. A recurring check-in.
We all want to know that we mattered to someone. That we contributed. That we were part of something larger than ourselves. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when we design for it.