Find Support
Ongoing support is what turns this program from just being
another website of information to being a real source of
renewal and power in your life.
Probably the most critical step to doing this program is to
find or create ongoing support for yourself. With
ongoing support, you are much more likely to make
progress. You can share the ups and downs of your
"journey" toward a better life and world.
On this page, we will ask you to think about what kind of
support would be best for you, then we offer three categories
of options.
First think about your needs and preferences
If you've gotten this far, you probably like the
Fellowship of the Dream approach. But maybe a different
kind of group would be better for you -- or maybe being in two
programs. For example, if you have one major focus in
your life that you think should be a priority, there is
probably a group for it. If the priority is to find a
job, or deal with major emotional stress, or deal with some
form of addition, then there are groups for all of these
particular needs. You should look for and join such a
group, class or workshop. You can still do the
Fellowship program for other goals in your life, but again, if
you have a huge priority or one burning need in some area of
your life, you should address that need separately.
Online you can find most any group through standard
searches. If you have difficulty, go to a library or
call a librarian for assistance.
Next, you might think about whether you would prefer
one-to-one support, or small group support. One-to-one support
can be through twice-a-week phone calls. For example,
you call them at the start of the week, and they call you
midweek. You each talk about your progress since the
last call, and your concrete plans until the next
call. Or you could meet once a week at breakfast
or lunch. On the other hand, a small group format is
probably best done once a week.
Let's compare a one-to-one format against a small
group. In a one-to-one format, you have a right to half
the time. In a group, it's less time. A fifth of the
time, if there's five people, or a third of the time, if
there's three. In a group, however, there's more
expertise and more opportunity for networking. A one-to-one
pairing is easier to start, but if the other person drops out,
or has schedule conflicts, you lose your support either
temporarily or permanently. In contrast, if someone
drops out or misses a meeting, the group and support
continue.
By the way, you could arrange for both kinds of support,
together. This gives you the best of both worlds.
The rest of this page covers three basic options:
Starting one-to-one support, starting a Fellowship Goal and
Growth Group, or starting another superprogram.
Tips for finding one-to-one support -- Who to ask
and how to ask
1. First read about the buddy system, so that you know
what it would be like.
2. Most of the time, you may not want to ask someone you
live with. It might be best to ask a friend or
acquaintance, rather than someone you see every
day.
3. Ask someone whose has some self-discipline and whose
life is not in major transition. You want someone who
will remember to make the calls, or be available to receive
them.
4. When you talk with someone and explain the format,
help them think about what they could be using the
support for. They shouldn't just be doing it for your
sake. It's much better if both people are getting some
solid payoff for their efforts. They (and you) must
believe that support and encouragement will make a significant
difference.
5. Most people won't take on a big, long-term
commitment. So, suggest a trial period of three or four
weeks. Limit the time commitment, so that it's
doable. For instance, you can get a lot from two
ten-minute phone calls a week. (But don't forget that
some time needs to go into preparing for the call.)
Tips for starting a Goal and Growth Group
Starting a small group may be a lot easier than you think!
Let's assume that you don't have any experience starting or
leading small groups. In this case, you should try to find
someone who has experience. There are two
approaches. One is to find a person that has experience,
another is to find a group of people, and ask them to add this
format to what they are already doing.
People with small group experience can be found in different
places. In schools, many teachers would have the skills;
in a religious context, many ministers have the skills; in
nonprofits, many activists or social workers have the skills
or experience. You probably know a few people with the
skills. Once you fully understand the Goal and Growth
Group format you can send them this brief description, along
with an attachment that gives the more in-depth description:
The Goal and Growth Group purpose is to support people in their
goal attainment and growth. From 3-6 people meet, usually
weekly, for about 60-90 minutes.) There are three rounds. Each
person takes two minutes or less per round. In the first round
people share on learning: They share on something they are
studying; or they share an insight related to their efforts;
or they ask if any in the group know of information that they
need. In the second round they share on their progress since
the last meeting and their plans until the next meeting. In
the third round they share on something that they appreciated.
After the three rounds, there is an "Interchange"
period in which the group can go into more depth. The Interchange
is more open-ended. During this time, the group can discuss an
issue that most of the members are dealing with (such as
staying motivated or saving time); or the group can work on a
skill together (such as active listening); or the group
members could evaluate the group, and adjust the ground rules
for that particular group.
There is actually a webpage with more tips on starting
a Goal & Growth Group.
The alternative to approaching an individual, is to approach a
group that you already belong to and ask if some or all of the
members want to participate in Fellowship of the Dream.
It's easy to see how religious groups would see the value of
the format in helping their members do more good. Also,
it's easy to see how a members of an environmental group would
value the format, for the impact members could make on the
environment, both directly through lifestyle changes, and
indirectly through political action or socially responsible
spending and investing.
It may or may not appeal to members of groups that focus on
personal growth and change. Some of the people in these
groups are too me-oriented to care about others or the
long-term future of humanity. But others are mature
enough to see how their own welfare and goal-attainment
directly depends on the stability of our life-support systems,
and on the welfare of others.
If you approach a large group of people and ask them to add
the Goal and Growth Group to their format, there may be too
many people for one large group sharing. It may be best
to have many small groups of two or three people. For
example, let's imagine that an environmental group of about 20
people meets from 7:00 pm to 8:30. You could offer to be
the topic for one evening, and explain the Goal and Growth
format to them. Then the following week, those
interested could stay an extra half hour, and so perhaps six
of the 20 people would be interested, and they could have two
groups of three meet in a half hour. Again, just ask
them to initially try it for three or four weeks, as a trial
period.
Other superprograms or programs
If this program is not for you, or if you eventually want
a change of pace, you might prefer another superprogram.
Currently there are three others:
Mission Ball This is a game
format in which teams compete to do good in four areas:
personal fulfillment, helping others, increasing skills and
"protecting the world." Each game lasts a week
and ends in a scoring session among the four teams of the
league. Find details at MissionBall.Org
Climb Today's Mountain This
format also is best with 15-40 participants. The format
involves a two hour weekly meeting, broken down in different
formats that offer support, networking, skill-building and
affirmation. ClimbTodaysMountain.Org
All Around This
superprogram is very flexible and there are many options in
it. It can work for a small group of 5-7 people, or for
larger groups. For instance, one option involves a
series of discussion and action meetings. Each week a few
articles and short stories is read, and the group
discusses the relevance of these and related program
materials. All-Around.Org
