"Maybe You Need To Have More Fun"

E152: The Cottage Edition & Olympic GOLD

Fun. Failure. Fellowship. How do these ideas connect?

In this week’s edition, we explore the vital connection between community, joy, and mental health:

• Breaking News: “Oh la la!” 🏃🏼‍➡️Canadian 🏃🏼‍➡️Men’s 🏃🏼‍➡️team just won🏃🏼‍➡️ GOLD🥇 in the 4x100m relay! https://x.com/TeamCanada/status/1821969502114103485 Want more fun? Click the link 👆🏼 to watch/listen to the race with French-Canadian commentators on Radio-Canada Sports!

• Serendipity: The intersection of two ideas from two essays

• Andante: Spending quiet time on the dock, and having fun with family

• PS. A job opportunity with David Dvorkin and HireCause

When we create these arenas of fun, we have more fun. What’s “fun” is experiencing those emotions together. 
We become so overtaken by “fun” that we lose ourselves completely in pure joy and happiness.

— Elle Griffin, The Elysian

Serendipity = X ∩ Y

With my eye on #RaisingFutureReadyLeaders, I am constantly drawn to discussions about empowerment & agency, mental health & vitality, and creativity & exploration.

I believe in #RaisingFutureReadyLeaders. Therefore, mental health conversations figure strongly as I analyze The Future Of Work.

I believe in Hope. The work of the Future dovetails with Climate. Jobs that address sustainability, climate mitigation, health and wellness will have a longer shelf life, fuller purpose and deeper impact. Serving up a side of hope for the next generations will give them the confidence to lean into creative 10X solutions.

I believe in Connection. It is the genesis for Tribe Tilt (previously named The Karena Arena) a tight-knit (virtual) community of inspiring humans who reach out and help each other:

We believe we can make a difference to the people and places that are precious to us - that we have hope, fun and agency within our own lives that ripples through to others.

X. A recent essay by Seth Kaplan for Jon Haidt (Author of The Anxious Generation) in After Babel :

The Upstream Cause of the Youth Mental Health Crisis is the Loss of Community — the loss of trust and in-person communities was likely the first act leading to the creation of the loneliest generation. Here are some passages I highlighted:

• Much of a child’s learning and formation is absorbed from the environment rather than directly taught by adults; behavior is better shaped by modeling than by lecturing.

• … focus on strengthening the real-world human communities and neighborhoods we live in.

• A web of overlapping, affect-laden associations and relationships that crisscross and reinforce each other

• High levels of trust

• Role models who exhibit the cultural behaviors that the group should ideally replicate or at least aspire to;

• Exhibiting a high degree of inclusiveness by actively seeking to encompass every member who shares the same identity or location;

• Capacity to strongly encourage through moral suasion certain norms of conduct and, if necessary, sanction misconduct

Y. From Elle Griffin and The Elysian : Maybe you need to have more fun. These phrases stood out:

• We become so overtaken by “fun” that we lose ourselves completely in pure joy and happiness.

• Our laughter is always the laughter of a group.

• It is the group that gives us the freedom to laugh

• When we create these arenas of fun, we have more fun. What’s “fun” is experiencing those emotions together. 

∩ My takeaways = the Serendipity of Community

How do we create the leap from the problems presented by X to the opportunities offered in Y?

• Why: GenZ and Gen Alpha could use a big dose of inspiration, laughter, and joy to counteract the view of the world social media offers.

• Why: While some creativity is borne out of despair, most of it shows up when we are not cowed by

• What: Community offers context. Instead of single points of success curated into one beautiful Instagram landscape, young adults see the day-to-day modelled before them. They learn to appreciate the joy of the bummed-out moments. The concepts of community and joy intersect, and are connected.

  lizfosslien

  

  A post shared by @lizfosslien

• How: Can we create more moments for fellowship and shared joy and laughter?

If these ideas resonate with you, you will flood the comments section with your thoughts. How do we go about creating virtual and in-person community connections across all age groups?

---

Andante: Our Cottage Olympics

My family spent this past long weekend (Canadian August Bank Holiday) together. ¹

One of the highlights of this quiet, do-nothing weekend was the food, fishing, and fun. My daughter organized an inventive 6-event Cottage Olympics that pitted adult against child. Wait! They are now grown. We are all adults - so older adults against extra-energy younger ones, sibling against sibling for fun-filled photo-finish endings.

Drink in the stillness. Make some happy memories.

---

Job Opportunity:

This cut/paste is from an email from Tilt Member, David Dvorkin. <The bold/italic are my edits for interested international Tribe Tilt members.>

Title Role:  Hire Cause Internship Manager

We are looking for someone who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, coaching abilities, and a passion for service to be one of our Internship Managers. 

The ideal person will enjoy connecting with teachers across the education system to support them in having a greater impact with their students through the Hire Cause project.  These projects are geared towards supporting local nonprofits.   This person will also work with the Program Manager and Executive Director to improve our curriculum and assist Hire Cause teachers across our school network with lesson plans.  

• September 1, 2024 - May 30, 2025 

• Approx 5 hours per week outside of school hours (NYC School Boards, Eastern Time Zone); 12 weeks in fall and 12 weeks in spring

• $50 USD per hour, ~$6,000 USD per academic year.

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply here this week. Deadline for applications is Thursday, August 15, 2024. They are seeking someone with 5 years of client-facing experience.

Do you want to understand what this role involves? Want to research more about David and HireCause? I’ve been twice invited onto the panel that evaluates the projects that these students will create. Their creativity and drive are inspiring!

• E24: To Imagine, Challenge, Story-Weave. And Hope.

• E39: Sharing Feel-Good Moments. Profile of David Dvorkin.

---

Enjoy these summer weeks (or early spring for our southern hemisphere members). See you next week, Tribe Tilt. Till then, stay healthy. Remember, the best idea can come from anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Karena

Thank you to

Brooke Smith

and

Emma Dorge

. It is invaluable to be part of an editing community.

1. For the younger parents in Tribe Tilt struggling through the summer with life and your littles, please believe me when I say you, too, will yearn for the moment when all your children are tucked in bed, together again under the same roof. I now count those nights on the fingers of one hand each year.