Are you thriving or just surviving?

In our modern world, we really do ‘choose our own adventure’.  With the pace of business and lifestyle ever-increasing and constantly competitive demands on our time, resources and creativity, we can only keep up by surviving or thriving.

What do surviving and thriving look like?

Surviving:

We’ve relinquished control of ourselves and live in fear, shutting down many of our thoughts, feelings, emotions and body sensations to cope only with the ‘must do’s.  Our energy is depleted and we use adrenaline, cortisol and other body chemicals to merely react and function, which, like any other drug used to cope, only leaves us feeling de-energised and depressed.
 
Thriving:

We are alive, energised and enthused by what life has to offer, fast moving, productive and satisfied with who we are.  We are aware of and in control of our thoughts, feelings, emotions and body sensations, and use these to proactively guide our attitudes and actions.  Our motivation and discretionary energy is boundless and build momentum towards achieving our goals and dreams.
 
As we can see, each path comes with a set of consequences and if we could choose, it seems like an extremely easy choice to make!

 
So why aren’t more of us choosing thriving over just surviving?

For many of us it doesn’t feel like a choice.  The ‘survive’ mentality means feeling like life is being done to us, with lack of choice implicit inside this.
 
Choosing to thrive is a constant acknowledgement that although we may not choose everything that happens to us, we absolutely choose our attitudes and behaviours in dealing with it. 
 
We need to create the right environment in our workplaces, homes, roles and relationships to better enable the choice to thrive.  So many businesses have values around authenticity and being real and transparent, yet few have a true company culture that invites these things.
 
How do you know when you are thriving?  What is a thriving relationship to you?  Taking the time to look at what this means to you personally both at work and at home in invaluable, as there is a cost for compromising in either place.
 
We often hear people say ‘I am different at work than at home’, and this is seen as being an ordinary ? even necessary ? condition of modern work/life balance.   As we gain research and experience in the area of human performance and resilience, it becomes more and more apparent that the best person to be in both places ? in all situations ? is your whole (confident and thriving) self.
 

What do we need to thrive?

Most people, whether they are at home or at work, want to be valued for their contribution, acknowledged for their competence and respected and liked as an individual.  The means to achieve this will vary for each of us, but what is universal is that when all of these wants are fulfilled we have discretionary energy and effort available to thrive.
 
So are you creating a culture where your people can thrive or survive?
 
What can you do today to make someone feel significant, competent and likeable?