My Third Pillar of Sustainability – Connection
We covered my three pillars of sustainability, went into detail on how I use the lens of health and the lens of happiness to shape my behavior, and now it’s time for the final pillar and lens: connection.
In a way, I feel like connection is the pillar that really ties everything together – I can be at the top of my health, but it’s pretty hard to achieve happiness without a sense of connection. Connection to my friends and family, connection to my community, and connection to nature are a huge part of where I derive meaning in my life. We are, at the core, social beings that innately yearn for a sense of connection to others.
Connection and Relationships
Connection is the thread that weaves our lives together, creating relationships with others and fostering a sense of belonging. Many people derive who they are by the groups they associate with; the university you graduated from, the group you volunteer with, the community you play sports with. Whether it’s through deep friendships, family bonds, or community engagement, connection provides us with emotional support, companionship, and shared purpose. The people we spend time with that are part of our tribe reminds us that we are not alone, that our experiences are valid and shared, and that we have people to lean on in the good times and the bad. Beyond personal relationships, connection also extends to the world around us—our interactions with nature, our role in society, and even the way we contribute to something larger than ourselves. Our relationships make a big part of who we are.
Connection, Health, and Happiness
So why is connection so vital for a good life? Study after study has shown that strong social ties are directly linked to increased longevity and improved mental health. People with close relationships tend to be happier, healthier, and more resilient. Loneliness, on the other hand, has been associated with higher risks of heart disease, depression, and even early mortality. True, deep connection with other people plays a critical role in our health (In case it wasn’t already obvious, the number of social media “friends” you have doesn’t count).
There are other ways connections to others reinforces health and happiness both. When we cultivate relationships that are supportive, they help us create better habits (though they can certainly help you create bad habits too…But I hope you avoid those relationships). Going on a walk with a friend, a family member motivating you to eat well, or a community group supporting each other through a shared love of some activity are all fantastic examples of things you can do that will help build healthy relationships while also gaining the mental benefits of connection. Emotional support can help lower stress levels, strengthen the immune system, and improve overall well-being. Happiness is similarly intertwined with connection. Laughing with friends, sharing a meal with loved ones, or feeling a sense of belonging in a group all have been shown to create all kinds of feel-good chemicals in your brain that contribute to a feeling of higher life satisfaction.
How Connection Plays a Role in Sustainability
Beyond personal well-being, connection also plays a key role in sustainability. In my personal experience, many of the activities that foster connection naturally align with a more sustainable lifestyle. Spending time with others often means less screen time and, in turn, less energy use. Gathering with friends for lunch or all sitting down to play a board game together can help you stay away from trying to fix your boredom with impulse shopping and reduce consumerism (I found out recently that this is a real thing…Many people binge shop online to help them feel better when they’re feeling sad or lonely). The more you see others and explore the world, the more you learn to value experiences over material goods. Don’t forget that connection doesn’t have to be with other people, you can also find ways to connect with animals or nature! Quality time with my dog always feels well spent. I also love to level up my connection to nature by spending time hiking, camping, or even just reading a book at the beach. Time in nature has been shown to increase positive emotions, such as calmness, joy, creativity, and can facilitate concentration.
Lastly, I want to mention one last very important connection: the connection to yourself. Recently, I’ve tried to spend a lot of time cultivating self-awareness, self-compassion/empathy, and a sense of inner peace to try to become more comfortable with who I am so I can engage more authentically with others and the world. Taking the time to reflect, understand my own emotions, and care for my own spirit gives me a confidence and foundation for meaningful relationships. Giving space to explore myself always feels like time well spent.
We Could All Use a Bit More Connection
At its core, connection is about being present—with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us. It ties together the elements of health and happiness, making life richer and more meaningful. In a culture that prioritizes individual achievement, taking the time to nurture relationships and foster a sense of belonging is one of the best ways we can create a fulfilling, meaningful, sustainable life.
Final Note
Writing this series of blog posts has really been an exercise in self-exploration for me. This concept of the 3 pillars of sustainability is something I’ve spent a considerable amount of time thinking about over the past few years. Every one of these posts ended up being way longer than I expected them to be, and each one gave me plenty of room to question my own thinking and try to do a bit of side research to figure out whether anything I was saying has actually been shown. At some point I should probably go back and read them and still if I still agree with what I wrote, as part of me thinks that there’s a lot of revision I could do on these posts.
I hope these little reflections were useful to some of you out there, and I’d really be curious to know what you think about the concept of health, happiness, and connection as a foundation for sustainability. Feel free to challenge and question me in the comments below! I’d love to engage more.
Now back to your scheduled programming of my weekly ramblings on sustainability. Thanks for reading, everyone!
