The power of “social capital”
The power of “social capital”
By Mirela Sula
We all need to live within a supportive social network and when this happens it is the combined strength that everyone has to help each other. Our life is full of surprises in a beautiful world that is full of possibilities. Therefore, we are faced with making decisions continuously, moment by moment and in a broad way for our overall direction in life. What one day works, the next day may not. Therefore, when we are faced with new changes often we are scared to walk alone. We want be close to people who provide security and surround us with their kindness. Fortunately these people exist and it is important to search for them when we need them. They can be family members, friends, partners or co-workers.
All these networks create an effective support system around us and play an important role by helping us cultivate different parts of our personality. We consider positive friends to be allies of our life with whom we exchange positive energy. We trust them with our doubts and share our life joys by creating healthy connections with them. All this is the process of how we continuously cultivate relationships which creates closer ties to the people we spend time with. There appears to be a need to choose those who appear similar to us. People who think like us, who share similar thoughts and grow at the same time with us are a treasure. We may not always be able to achieve this quickly, but surely we should contribute to making social improvements and enjoy life surrounded by caring people.
“We should contribute to making social improvements and enjoy life surrounded by caring people”
To grow our pool of friends is a way to confirm our existence. Especially in today’s times where life often takes you toward individualization. Everyone knows their own needs such as to be surrounded by love and protection. Everyone wishes to build life in their own way. To achieve this freedom of an individual must widen and the need to be connected with others will grow.
We understand that a day of life is like a “work of art” and “social capital” is a wealth built with great human resources. We can create our personal networks which go far beyond our direct family connections. Why are we attracted to some people to a point that they become the allies of our life? How can we understand the constructive interactions with those who help us move forward, that bring out the best possible from us and contribute to the enjoyment of our own existence? If we are able to answer these questions we can keep these key people in our life and move forward more securely without fear on the path to the future.
The need to be connected with others
Regardless of our wishes to expand our networks of people we know and want become a part of our group there is still much insecurity that surrounds us in today’s world. It surrounds us in an unavoidable way related to our identity. It is the fact that everyone feels it in a unique way. Everyone needs an identity. Who we are depends on the renewed acquaintance with that which we create and we attempt to hold onto for a long time. We certainly want to create an identity that fits in with the outside world because only this way it appears to us that we are accepted by others. Only in this way we are able to respond to the changes of our time and to the external demands we face.
Doesn’t all this begin from within us? In fact, the confusion and anxiety does not come from the changes of lifestyle but from internal issues and from the mentality and the difficulty many people have in understanding and absorbing the physical variability of our own identity. All this instability stems from cultural differences – social, technology and religion that shake social relationships with us. All this brings extreme results. On the one hand, the appearance of individualism and narcissism has caused to direct the attention to self-realization. On the other hand the isolation into personal space or more precisely in the isolated fantasy of selfish personality has left us feeling empty and alone.
“Isolation into personal space or more precisely in the isolated fantasy of selfish personality has left us feeling empty and alone”
Said in a simpler way, the fear we have today is for many of us is not to get lost in this big world. It is the fear of being or becoming an outsider in the world that continues to expand in our perception caused by the growth of globalization. Additionally, this fear extends to the extremely fast technological developments that seem beyond our reach. The thirst that we have to rule the world and the possibilities that we have to integrate and assimilate are real challenges. Additionally, this is caused by the fact that we no longer know ourselves: Who are we? Where are we going? What does the future hold for us?
