TED Circle: Frientimacy, The 3 Requirements of All Healthy Relationships
We believe that meaningful conversations create interpersonal connections that collectively strengthen communities. Through TED Circles, we invite YOU — our friends, neighbors, colleagues, and TEDxHouston community — to join us online and/or in person on the last Friday of every month to discuss a variety of interesting topics.
TED Circles uphold the spirit of TED, focusing on the power of ideas. TED provides monthly themes, recommended Talks, and specific conversation starters so everyone participating can focus on engaging in constructive conversations.
The theme for February 2020 is “How We Love”: This month’s TED Circle conversation will focus on Shasta Nelson’s TEDxLaSierraUniversity Talk, “Frientimacy: The 3 Requirements of All Healthy Friendships.”
Our world is getting “better” at connecting us and yet we’re reporting feeling more disconnected than ever. The issue: loneliness. The solution: understanding the 3 actions that lead to belonging. Shasta Nelson is passionate about all things friendship. As founder and CEO of GirlFriendCircles.com— the female-friendship learning community—she speaks and writes regularly on this important topic.
We’ll start by discussing:
- How loved and supported do you feel by your friends? How do you cultivate friendships where both of you feel seen?
- Nelson’s formula includes positivity, consistency, and vulnerability. Which one(s) could help your friendships the most? How can you create space for more of that in your friendships in the near future?
- Why do you think connectedness is correlated with the significant health issues Nelson cites? How does that make you feel?
- Is there anyone in whom you want to invest more “P, C, or V” so they “move up the friendtimacy triangle”? If yes, what makes you want to invest in this friendship? What action will you take to invest in this friendship?
Welcoming a wide range of perspectives, TED Circles encourage equal participation within a safe environment that promotes curiosity, open-mindedness, debate, inclusion, and generosity. Here’s a summary of what TED Circles are and are not:
- TED Circles are volunteer-hosted, small, face-to-face (in-person, online) gatherings where topics are safely discussed.
- TED Circles are not a TED event. They are not a club or a one-off gathering. They do not sell things or raise money. Agendas and self-promotion have no place in these conversations!
Shasta Nelson is the author of two books: Friendships Don’t Just Happen! The Guide to Creating a Meaningful Circle of Girl- Friends and Frientimacy: How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness. Her spirited and soulful voice can also be read at Shasta’s Friendship Blog and in her relationship health column in The Huffington Post.She’s been interviewed on the Today show, Katie Couric’s show Katie, The Early Show, and on Fox Extra. She’s been consulted on friendship matters by writers and reporters from such magazines as Cosmopolitan, More, Real Simple, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping, and from such newspapers as The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and the San Francisco Chronicle. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
