How to find your tribe | Millennial Guide to making friends
One of the toughest parts about growing up, especially in such a digital age is we begin to lose our social skills sitting behind the screen.
We need deeper and more meaningful connections.
One of the reasons I think vlogs & mukbang style videos are doing so well online is because people are lonely, they are looking for real connection, someone to talk sh** with, as well as people they can relate to, someone to make us feel heard.
“You become like the five people you spend the most time with. Choose carefully.”
Sometimes people get lucky and end up in environments that enable them to make new friends and connections with people that have similar interests to them, people that help motivate and uplift you to be the best version of yourself. However, for the majority of us, we need to take active steps to find these people!
It's weird, it's socially acceptable for us to actively seek a life partner (romantic interest) however when it comes to friends or a network, things seem to get weird...
Over the years I've explored the idea of finding the right community for me, and contrary to what some say, that didn't mean getting rid of my old friends. It just meant expanding my network.
Here are some of the best ways I've found to "Find your Tribe":
1. What are your interests/hobbies? If you're like me, hobbies were just something quirky you would add into your resume to make you seem interesting...but when push came to shove you didn't actually have any!
No worries, time to find yourself a hobby - this can be one of the best ways to meet new people, for me, it started with blogging & content creation, moved into podcasting & then outdoor activities like hiking!
For you it might be totally different, once you start playing around with different hobbies and find one you like here are some ways to meet people.
Search up accounts on Instagram e.g. if you want to get into yoga search up some yogis on insta, it's likely they may already have an online community you can either join or they may have some events you can attend. You can also see if any of your mutual friends follow the account to, a great way to build a closer bond with somebody you didn't expect to!
The Millennial Crisis Community: Hello, we are your people, one of the reasons the Millennial Crisis was born was for this exact reason, a new way to connect, network and collaborate with like-minded people. Join one of our virtual events, introduce yourself in our Slack community or find your people through our podcast episodes. See our upcoming events here.
Jump onto a meetup or events website: I like MeetUp or Eventbrite, use a keyword to search up events near you to attend - going to events alone can be daunting trust me I know to read this blog for my experience. BUT it is one of the most liberating things you can do, you would be surprised by how welcoming people are and how easily you can make friends!
2. Volunteer
As Adam Murray mentions in Ep 2 of the Millennial Crisis podcast, he found not only his tribe but great business connections through Networking! This is something that has been used by a lot of big names including Tim Ferris (author of the 4-hour workweek). If you are working with people that just "aren't your people", give volunteering a go in an industry you are interested in or somewhere you just think is REALLY COOL!
Some great examples of how you can volunteer include:
At a music festival (Great way to meet people into the same music you enjoy & listen to some of your favourite artists)
At a business event (Connect not only with event speakers, add this to your resume & find other motivated volunteers that could become potential best buds!)
For a business If there is an industry you are interested in exploring, email them to see if their are any casual volunteer positions (depending on how much time you have). Great way to meet people in a specific industry and also potentially secure a job!
For an individual you admire (mentor relationship): Send a personal and well thought out message to somebody who's work you admire and offer up your skills to help them, you never know how they can help or who they can connect you with!
3. New Aged communities
This sounds like a strange one, however there are so many new online communities popping up that have regular IRL meetups, it's a great way if you feel you don't have any hobbies, you're really not sure what kind of relationships you are looking for to check out some of these websites and see if they have any events you may be interested in attending!
The GoodLife Project : People looking for a better way to live
Yes Theory Fam: People seeking discomfort & adventure
The School of Life: Events, Workshops & Personal Development
The Millennial Crisis: For those a little Lost on Life
Fuck Up Nights: Aspiring entrepreneurs & self-starters
WifiTribe: Digital Nomads (paid membership - I have & would recommend)
Girls Who Code: Pretty self-explanatory...
Keep it Cleaner (KIC): Women looking to live a healthy balanced lifestyle
Google does a great job of finding more of these for you, so give a few things a crack
Another option is to check out if some of your fave influencers have online communities that do regular meetups, if you haven't ever been to any or are anxious about it. Don't worry, it's totally normal to feel that way! But sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone to live the life you really want!
If you know of any other awesome communities or ways to find your tribe that I haven't mentioned here, please let me know, I'd love to update the list again :)
Send me an email here, or a DM on Instagram here. For more on this topic Listen to Episode 3 + the bonus ep for more on how I started building my tribe! Apple Podcasts & Spotify