How to Thrive: 5 Steps to Get Started

Rarely, if ever, are we taught or encouraged to define what thriving means to us in our lives, work, or businesses.

As a result, many people don’t expect feeling like you are thriving in your one and only life should be the norm. We often settle for a status quo that feels like it is sucking the life out of us.

I used to feel that way back in my corporate career many years ago. I didn’t feel like I was thriving, personally or professionally. I was existing, not thriving.

It got me curious about why I was settling for that. I realised that I had never been taught or encouraged to include thriving as part of my definition of success.

I decided that needed to change. I no longer wanted to pursue the path I was on in my life and work if the cost was feeling like I wasn’t thriving in my one and only life.

So, I created my own definition of what thriving meant to me. I set out to build every area of my life and work around that. That was a liberating exercise that got me on the path of change.

Thriving can mean different things to different people. That is why it is important to create your own definition of what thriving means to you.

Here are 5 steps to help you create your own definition of thriving and start building your life, work, or business around that:

Step 1: Create your own definition of what thriving means to you. Base it on what matters most to you, your values, and what you want your life, work, or business to be like.

Step 2: Include external factors and internal factors in your definition of thriving. Often, we focus mostly on external factors when we think of thriving. For example, earning X amount of money, having X number of holidays a year, time spent with loved ones, physical environment, time for hobbies, etc. All of those sorts of external factors are absolutely valid as part of a definition of thriving. However, external factors are not the only thing that matters when it comes to thriving. Internal factors like emotions and feelings are equally important.

Step 3: Internal factors: focus on how you want to feel. Truly thriving is a state of being. A feeling. An emotion. It isn’t just external factors in isolation. It is also internal factors that we feel at our core. How do you want to feel? What does it feel like when you are thriving?

Step 4: Using what came up for you in the first three steps, ask yourself this question: What do I need to do to start turning my definition of thriving into reality? What needs to change?”

Step 5: Take your new definition of thriving and turn it into an action plan to start turning it into reality. Start implementing your plan. Break each task into small, manageable steps.

The bottom line:

Thriving doesn’t happen by chance. It happens by defining it and taking action to turn it into reality. Proceed accordingly.