Already in this course, we've covered many different aspects of belonging:

• The feeling of belonging vs. the need to belong.
• Pre-requisites for belonging
• The neuroscience of belonging

One concept that is central to this course is that belonging is a human-centered approach. It isn’t fancy. It isn’t a flash in the pan. It's key...a key that can give us access to our full potential.

It’s no surprise that one of the founding fathers of belonging also founded the client-centered therapy approach that changed the landscape of counseling. That man is Carl Rogers. Rogers defined belonging in print in 1951 as “a unique and subjective experience that relates to the yearning for connection, need for positive regard, and desire for interpersonal connection.” This definition stands head and shoulders above any other definition that tries to adequately summarize the human belonging experience.

Watch this snippet from a recent keynote speech that breaks down the complexity of Carl Rogers' definition of belonging.