Why Belonging and Civic Muscle Are the Real Superpowers
If there’s one thing that threads through every community transformation story we’ve heard, it’s this: lasting change depends on people feeling like they belong—and knowing that they matter.
That’s not just a nice-to-have. It’s a condition for thriving.
In the Thriving Together framework, belonging is paired with something equally vital: civic muscle. Together, these two create the cultural and relational foundation for any meaningful system shift.
This essay is about why they matter—and how to grow them.
🤲 What Is Belonging, Really?
Belonging isn’t just about inclusion or welcome. It’s about ownership. About being part of something and knowing you help shape it.
Walt Roberts puts it this way:
“You may not belong like you belong to a neighborhood. But you belong to the mission. You belong to that future.”
Belonging is what turns observers into participants. It’s what helps people say, “This isn’t just theirs. This is ours.”
💪 What Do We Mean by Civic Muscle?
Civic muscle is our collective ability to work across differences, tackle tough problems, and build shared futures. It’s a kind of community capacity—and like physical muscle, it gets stronger with use.
From mutual aid to civic assemblies, from local journalism to participatory budgeting, civic muscle shows up whenever people practice democracy in everyday life.
“It’s the engine of long-term well-being,” says Bobby Milstein. “Without it, even the best-designed policies fall short.”
🌱 Vital Conditions: The Roots of Well-Being
Belonging and civic muscle are one of the seven Vital Conditions that underpin the Thriving Together framework. These are the conditions every person and community needs to thrive:
Basic Needs for Health and Safety
Lifelong Learning
Meaningful Work and Wealth
Humane Housing
Reliable Transportation
A Healthy Natural Environment
Belonging and Civic Muscle
You can’t trade one for another. Each is essential—and interconnected. But belonging and civic muscle are often what unlock the others.
They’re the how behind the what.
🛠 How Communities Are Building Belonging
Across the Thriving Together ecosystem, communities are finding new ways to foster belonging:
In the Braver Angels pilot, diverse groups of Americans came together not just to talk, but to work toward local problem-solving together.
In North Sound, WA, the Accountable Communities of Health initiative uses the Vital Conditions to guide trust-based funding and community-led solutions.
In the Nexus Forums, leaders shared how narrative, relationship, and rhythm shape deeper change than programs alone ever could.
Each of these efforts looks different. But they share a core belief: people are not passive recipients of change. They are co-creators.
🔄 Belonging Is a Practice, Not a Program
You don’t download belonging. You build it.
You build it by asking better questions. By noticing who’s missing. By making it easier to participate, to contribute, to feel seen and respected. And by inviting people into the work of shaping what comes next.
That’s where civic muscle grows—through doing.
“Helping hands, holding hands, hands together—that’s the active part of belonging,” said Walt in a recent conversation. “It’s not just that I fit here. It’s that I help make it real.”
This post is part of our “Thriving Together” starter series:
✅ Why Belonging and Civic Muscle Are the Real Superpowers (You’re here.)
Each piece explores a different doorway into the movement—read one or all, in any order.