3 Years! Birthday Reflection - Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Our Community!
Update: You can watch a video of 7 cups admin team sharing their thoughts here.
If I had to write a succinct version of this speech it would be 4 simple words.
I Love Our Community
That is the tl;dr version.
For those of you that want to hear or read more, then let me share the top 10 reasons why I love our community.
10. We are all different - We deeply - in our bones - value diversity here; Diversity across every dimension - SES, language, race, abilities, acculturation, orientation, ethnicity, religion and many, many, more. All of these differences, however, are held together, appreciated, and respected on a foundation of acceptance. Because of that, we get to all feel a little bit more comfortable with one another. We can take more risks. We can share more about who we are. When we do this together our community becomes that much more rich and beautiful.
9. We are builders - Have you seen this chart? Our community built that. Have you seen our forums? Our community built that. Have you seen the different training guides, feed posts, and outreach programs? Our community built all of that.
It sounds ridiculously ambitious, but you know what we are building? We - all of us together - are building a free global mental health system. Who does that? We do that, because we are builders.
8. We want to actually help people. At its core, 7 Cups is designed to help people. We try to take all the friction out of the process of both giving and receiving help. No money is needed. You dont have to drive anywhere. It is anonymous so there is no fear of judgment. It is messaging or a simple exercise so it is not too hard or intimidating. We have deliberately done all of this because we want to actually help people.
Also, we want to help people in measurable ways. Weve had third parties do research on 7 Cups. You can read about it here. The degree of how well we help people is mind-blowingly good, especially when you consider that it is free! We also show that we care about helping people in our stats, review processes, and quality scores. Our community is extraordinarily passionate about quality. I think this is something very unique about our culture.
7. We are patient. This 3 years has not been easy. Weve not been able to accomplish as much as we want. Sometimes we fail. Sometimes we lose track of things that are the most important things. Sometimes we unintentionally break something that is working perfectly well. Sometimes it takes us several weeks to figure out that we broke it.
I think we all know that we are all working really hard. We all really want 7 Cups to work. That trust we have for one another is a secret weapon. It glues us together and give us more space and time to problem solve. Things often take longer than expected. Knowing this - and showing patience towards one another - has helped us grow as a community. Weve developed unique strengths that never would have been able to develop if we were less patient with ourselves and one another.
6. We believe that each and every human is valuable. It doesnt matter who you are, it doesnt matter where you are from, it doesnt matter if you are from the other side of the tracks, it doesnt matter if you are not great at school, it doesnt matter if youve made a lot of mistakes, it doesnt matter if you have little money, and it doesnt matter if you have failed many times. We will care for you and accept you. Many places require you to show your value by having good looks, lots of money, or accomplishing a lot of things. There is this sort of measuring contest. First question when you meet someone is usually - what do you do? Not here on 7 Cups. We are like hikers on the Appalachian trail - no one asks your real name, no one cares to measure you against some arbitrary threshold. Nope - here - we are all just fellow travelers and we believe - in our words and actions - that each of us belongs here.
5. We know how to solve problems. Ive never seen a community better at solving problems. It is remarkable. Our core skill is listening. Id argue that problem solving is right up there near the top. It takes emotional resources, courage, and trust to solve problems. You have to be willing to face the problem, really get your arms around it, and then try and try and try to solve it. Our community is remarkably good at problem solving.
4. We are encouraging. Shout-outs, the welcoming committee, the PMs. Im not sure, but if I had to guess the % of forum posts/messages on our site that are encouraging, then Id have to say it is like 20%. I wish all the other groups I was part of were encouraging 20% of the time. That would be amazing. Encouragement helps soooo much. Many of us have been on the receiving end of encouragement right when we needed it. Someone shared a little bit of their light with us and it allowed us to take that next step forward. Encouragement is dramatically undervalued. On 7 Cups, we emotionally understand and deeply get the true power of encouragement.
3. We are empathic. Empathy is another one of those undervalued, but limitless resources that we all have the option of sharing. Unfortunately, many people look at life like it is a zero sum game. If I listen and care for you, then you might not listen and care for me. In our community, we believe in a higher ledger. We know that when you show empathy to another person it ripples out and impacts the people all around them. With enough ripples created we know many will come back and impact us as individuals as well.
2. We are resilient. I think many of us have had the good fortune of facing and overcoming many challenges in life. Some of us have grown up in rough family environments. Others have persevered through chronic health difficulties. Some of us have stubborn moods or anxiety that only lets up for brief moments. Many of us are survivors. We bring this sense of fortitude to our community. We know that whatever obstacles we face we will be able to overcome them if we persevere. We understand that 90% of it comes down to persevering. We do not give up!
1. We are hopeful! Some people see hope as weak. They see it as pie in the sky or a dream like quality. I disagree. Hope is strong. Shared hope is remarkably strong. We have hope for one another, we have hope for ourselves, we have hope for those we love, and we have hope for our community. This hope enables us to believe - it lends us strength - and empowers us to create change. We believe we can do the impossible. Because we believe it, we act on it. Because we act on it, we make it happen. Step by step. Brick by brick. We are making the impossible possible.
I could write dozens of reasons why I love our community, but that is my top 10.
Thank you for
Being Different
Building
Helping People
Being Patient
Believing Each Human is Valuable
Solving Problems
Encouraging One Another
Empathizing
Persevering
And Being HOPEFUL
This has been a wonderful 3 years. Thank you for being a part of our community. Id love to hear why you love 7 Cups. Please share your thoughts in this thread.
Thank you so much for the wonderful and inspirational post, Glen (: I'll share my top 10 then!
1 - We are figthers. As stated above, everyone on 7cups has been through something and we're all still here no matter what.
2 - We are united. The members of the community have been developing such strong bonds between each other, we're a family now.
3 - We are full of innovative ideas. There's always someone coming up with a new project, willing to improve things, and full of suggestions.
4 - We are compassionate. Even if we don't know each other, we're always willing to help without asking for anything in reward.
5 - We are fun. I must say it, there's loads of fun in the chatrooms or in PMs, I just love the jokes and the light atmosphere!
6 - We are tough. We don't let bad things (both among the community and in our lives) bring us down, and we're ready to stand up after we fall.
7 - We are cooperative. There's an unbelievable organisations behind the scenes, and everyone has a role, always willing to help the community and take on duties.
8 - We are willing to forgive. We try to move on from difficulties and use conflict resolutions, because we know fights won't take us anywhere and forgiveness is the best path.
9 - We are talented. Each one of the members can do something, there are people who can sing, dance, lead discussions, listen in an amazing way, set up events and many other skills!
10 - We are special. We are all awesome human beings, unique and irreplaceable in every possible way, no matter what. The amount of love we give is astounding, and all the progress made in these 3 years just tells us how special we are!
@Ila, WoW
11. We can have anytime chocolate cake and icecream and cookies.: *gives one each to @GlenM and to you 
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@GlenM
I love seven cups of tea because we are all different types of people from different walks of life united for one purpose. That one purpose is to help others who come to us. I also like seven cups because it gives members the opportunity to talk to people instead of having to talk to their family or go to a therapist at first.
@GlenM
Why do I love 7 Cups?....Let me count the ways :D
I joined 7 Cups about two years ago. I joined because I was a psychology student who wanted to change the world. I looked around my life, my community, and what I saw in the world and I wanted more. I wanted people to treat each other better, to want to fight FOR each other rather than against each other, and for people to stop perpetuating the stigma associated with mental illness.
The part that you said @GlenM about the amount of positivity here at 7 Cups and how you would like to see even that amount of positivity in the real world; that really hit home for me! I believe in leaving the world a better place than I found it. I want to change the world, one smile at a time! I want to leave my mark on the world, and I think I can use 7 Cups as my platform to do that. So Thank you for giving me that platform and helping me find my place. :D
I love 7 Cups because of my members, who remind me constantly how much I help them, and that I am an integral part of their life.
I love 7 Cups because of my fellow listeners, who are always there for you after a difficult chat, a smile, a laugh, or a lesson learned.
I love 7 Cups because of the lessons I have learned through all of the listener guides that I have finished.
I love 7 Cups because of the love and support (most times ;) ) That I see in the group support chatrooms, including the listener chatrooms.
I love 7 Cups because it is my family and my safe place and much closer to the ideal world I want to live in :D
I love 7 cups because: 1. There are some great people here. 2. It is a environment that allows us to be ourselves 3. There is always someone willing to provide support 4. There isn't anything that the people in 7 cups aren't knowledgable in 5. There are communities for everyone here 6. 7 cups does not tolerate negativity 7. 7 cups is an escape for those who need it 8. This is one of the most empathetic places I've ever experienced 9. 7 cups and its people are one of the most resilient group of people ever 10. 7 cups breeds acceptance.
I love the community because it gives me positive vibes and I learned a lot from this site <3
It is very helpful to my daily activities <3
Soooo much love and care ^^ <3
I can feel a huge vritual family here <3
I can't just explain it well but I really love this site and I will never leave <3
*kisses and hugs*
I loce this community as we can meet many wonderfull new people. Love you all <3
@GlenM I love 7Cups because it gives us a place to "belong" and feel like we fit in. Thank you Glen and all of the admin for all you do! The video was very touching and shows just how much you'll truly care.
I love 7Cups for giving me a home, a place where I am accepted and loved.
Thank you Glen and everyone else for doing what you do for this wonderful community. I think 7Cups is truly one of the most special places anywhere. The sense of community and acceptance for one another shines everyday, and the support that is given on a daily basis is making the world a better place. I love you all
@GlenM Hi, Glen. Greetings from Vienna, Austria! Thanks for posting your top ten reasons for loving the 7 Cups community. They are all great ones! You have created a wonderful space for people to reach out and share the love and kindness we all have inside of us, and you have made doing that as easy as logging on to the internet. Never before in the history of mankind has that been possible. Kudos to you, and to all the wonderful listeners on 7 Cups! 
Why I love 7 Cups
1. This community caters to sensitivity : when I first joined 7 cups I was astounded to experience this much acknowledgement from strangers. They made my problems feel important and allowed me to accept that I had these problems.
2. Everyone here is accepting and non-judgemental : seriously, it doesnt matter what your past is, people on this website will not look at you in a different light.
3. The 7 cups training lessons teach you how to live better : training for managing ones emotions, for forgiving others and finding relationships that mean something to one can all be learned here which school doesnt tell you how to do.
4. There are safety nets for everything : whether it be blocking a triggering chat, muting harmful words in group support chat, having the suicide hotline number with you at all times, this website is equipped with all possible ammunition you need to guard yourself.
5. This website allows you to express yourself : you can post how you are feeling on your feed, paint a desciption of youself in your profile bio, share your favorite music on a forum, all in one place.
6. 7 cups teaches you how to talk about your feelings : most of us grew up in homes where talking about feelings was never taught or reinforced by authorites, 7 cups allows us to share our innermost emotions and open up.
7. Being a listener on the website makes you patient and empathetic : you learn to allow people to fully express themselves and also learn to put yourself in their shoes.
8. You are rewarded your good work : badges are awesome, they make you want to work harder and longer, and random listeners congratulating you on getting those badges is even better.
9. This place is not all work and no play : as an intern I can vouch that there are a lot of entertaining aspects of 7 cups like the teen listeners room, sharing funy gifs and pictures, etc.
And finally,
10. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get from doing good work on this webiste: from listening to others, getting good feedback, part-taking in activities, sharing my referral link and finishing training courses.
Thank you for existing, 7 cups of tea, and Happy Birthday