Be grateful for all that is good in the present. Make the most of today, valuing time as one of your greatest resources. Just like Jason Mraz sings in his popular song Living in the Moment, don’t spend your time worrying about tomorrow when most of what you worry about will never happen. Learn to embrace challenge and grow stronger because of it. Instead of letting life happen to you and viewing life’s pitfalls as problems and things to beamoan, think instead of possibilities and opportunities. It’s been said that thriving is a state of mind people who thrive impact and overcome their environment, while survivors do only what they must to stay afloat. Mae West once said, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” Here are some practical tips to help you flourish, thrive, and create your best possible life. The warmth and light of spring and summer will come, and so will your time to thrive. Just as plants experience fall and winter - with leaves falling off the trees, forming musty piles, and blowing away - so our lives have periods of darkness when it can feel impossible to flourish. It’s important to remember, however, that this is all part of a cycle. Think back to the plant analogy - in spring and summer, plants grow and blossom. She asks her clients, “How have your rainbows been this week versus your clouds?” Just taking time to reflect on the balance of life’s positive and negative events helps put things in perspective. My colleague uses rainbows and storm clouds as a metaphor of good times and bad. In these moments, take a step back and reflect. If you’re at a place in your life where you feel like you’re barely surviving, being told to thrive can be more frustrating than encouraging. Practice this elegance in your day-to-day life, allowing your soul to thrive. Thriving is an energized state of being, instead of simply going through the motions day after day, purposeful living creates an atmosphere that allows your body and soul to flourish. The grace, the elegance of thriving comes from its intentionality. Thriving is elegant,” says a lovely quote by Maya Angelou. One way doesn’t require much more effort than the other - just a little more intentionality. While it’s possible for the plant to grow under the former conditions, and it probably will survive, treated so, it’s much more likely to flourish under the latter conditions. Thriving versus surviving is like the difference between sticking a plant on a shelf, watering it occasionally, and hoping for the best - and placing it near a window, regularly watering it, periodically adding some plant food to the soil, and pruning it when necessary. “Thriving” has become a cultural buzzword, as we often hear the question, “Are you just surviving … or are you thriving?” The history of the word makes sense, in this context, allowing us to rephrase the question: are you just surviving in your own life, letting life happen to you … or are you seizing your life, living actively, purposefully, and courageously? “Thrive” derives from an old Norse word, “thrifa,” meaning to seize or grasp. What does it mean to thrive and flourish, anyway? Both words refer to continuous progress and growth. “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive … and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” Maya Angelou Surviving is Important. This is the season for getting outdoors, reconnecting with friends and family, and trying new things … all ways to thrive in your own life. In this Leap Forward Coaching newsletter we discuss how to Flourish and Thrive … which seems just a little easier to do when the weather is warm and the air fresh. But they have … and just as the earth wakes up with longer days and warmer weather, so do we. For a while it felt the air might never warm and the trees might not bud. At last spring and nearly summer have arrived.
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