Lately I've been hearing SO many people talk about having to reinvent themselves, to think outside the box, to do "whatever it takes to survive."
What if I told you that survival was not only possible, but that life is about much more than survival? Life is about joy, fun, and what I call THRIVAL!
Ok, so I made the word up, but I like it! See, for me, it was never an option to simply survive. It's always been about thriving for me, and when I speak of survival and thriving in the same post, that word THRIVAL comes up.
How do you thrive when you don't know where your next rent or mortgage payment is coming from? How do you thrive when you have just sustained a loss, like a divorce, death of a loved one, or removal of part of your body due to illness?
I hear stories like these every day, and I have to say that whenever I hear a story like this, I am overjoyed. Lest you think I'm a compassionate-less ogre, let me explain. See, I know, both from my education and from personal experience, that when stuff like this happens, it's really a beginning, not an ending. It's really an opportunity knocking, not a door closing. It may seem like an ending, and a door closing, and I know that those feelings are very real. But I also know that if you are anything like me, you won't take a closed door or an ending for an answer. There has got to be a message there, and that message has got to be a path to something new and greater.
Here are some of the things you can do to move from survival to THRIVAL:
- Be gentle with yourself. Allow yourself to properly grieve the change or the loss.
- Spend quiet time with yourself. Do this daily, without the distraction of tv, radio, busywork or noise. Just sit quietly, or walk outside alone. While you are doing this, pay attention to the thoughts and feelings that come up. There is a lot of useful information there. It might help to write some of those thoughts of feelings down, especially if they come in the form of sudden Aha or lightbulb moments. Don't try to think of anything specific during your quiet time, just be fully and mindfully present and see what comes.
- Make sure you take good physical care of yourself: eat right, sleep right, get some exercise.
- After you've done the first three for a while, you will begin to feel like it is time to take some action. You might feel as if you have more energy. You might feel like it is time to do something. This is the time to begin setting some goals, and then acting on them.
- Set the goals, set some timelines for those goals, and begin.
- Keep in mind the 1st suggestion and continue to be gentle with yourself as you navigate your way into THRIVAL.
- This process is easier when you get help. Think seriously about using the services of a mentor, coach or counselor to help you through the process. In fact, I think it is so important to get help during this process that I'm offering a special. You can check it out here: http://karenlinsley.com/?page_id=140
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you!