Goals Managing Self Wellness

How I plan to thrive now

Written by Jill Farmer

Lots of people seem to really enjoy coming up with a word for the year.

A theme they want to stick to for the coming 12 months.

I’ve tried it in the past.
But, getting the “right” word kind of stressed me out.
Or, I’d get all jazzed about my word.
Then, by February I already forgotten it.

However, this year the word thrive keeps showing up.

I’ve felt a strong yearning to explore what thriving feels like in my life.

When I think about it, I feel a sense of expansion and invigoration.
And, exploring it has shown me a few things.

  • I often default, subconsciously, to surviving—where I scan my surroundings looking for things that might threaten me, or ways I’m falling short. It’s an old pattern. It’s going to take some awareness to flip the automatic switch from survive to thrive.
  • Thriving is about trusting the conditions are there for me to flourish—to grow, blossom and bear fruit. Turns out, those conditions have been there for a long time. (As in, my entire life). But, I was so focused on worrying about potential future threats to those conditions, I forgot to thrive.
  • Nature give us the best example of what thriving looks like. Here in the Midwest, plants thrive by trusting the seasons and adapting to the conditions. For instance, they gather nutrients by deepening root systems in the cold. In the desert, Cacti are super good at thriving without water. Moss (I love moss!) thrives without sunlight and is incredibly strong and powerful (as in dissolving rocks powerful) over time. It’s in no rush to do its brand of thriving.
    So what does thriving look like for me now?

It’s living life more fully, more openly, more bravely, and with much deeper trust in the possibility of it all.

Thriving is not something that only happens when “things are going great”.

It’s allowing ALL of it in— the emotions, the uncertainty, the sadness— while still making room for POSSIBILITY in the midst of it all. That means less black and white thinking, less labeling and more welcoming of rich dichotomies.
I’m not necessarily an expert on this thriving thing.

So, I plan to take this process of more fully inhabiting my thrive slowly …with a sense of strong curiosity (one of my superpowers).

What does thriving mean for you?

How can you thrive exactly where you are now, without needing conditions or something outside of you to change to make it happen?

Or, what changes do you need to make now to allow thriving to happen for you today?

Let me know what I can do to support you, my friend.
Because I truly believe we are here in this life to thrive not just survive. Let’s do it together.

About the author

Jill Farmer

I love helping people get more meaningful work done in less time. I am the author of "There's Not Enough Time... and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves" which debuted as a bestseller in the Time Management Category on Amazon. In 2015, The Washington Post named me to its 21-Day Time Hacker team. I travel the world delivering keynotes and seminars for top corporations and organizations. I am also a wife and the mother of two teens and I have the two worst-behaved dogs in the universe. You can reach me at jill@jillfarmercoaching.com or visit my website JillFarmer.com.

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