My counselor told me early on that his goal for me was to not just survive but to thrive.  Rah Rah Great….The next week I came back and asked, “What is thriving?”  At first he seemed to think I was jerking his chain then he realized I didn’t know what he meant, for real.  He tried to convey to me what he meant…yea it went straight over my head into the realm of idealistic dreaming.  Dark times, suicidal thoughts, and dissociation is not the land of the thriving.  I would wake up, move, feel the pain in my body, know I wasn’t dead, so I had to drag myself out of bed and go again.  Not the realm of thriving.  So what is thriving?

I found an article that shares scientist view of thriving….http://neurosciencenews.com/thriving-feeling-good-7447/

A+B= Thriving

The study outlines the ‘shopping list’ underlying Dr Brown’s simple definition. To thrive doesn’t need all the components, but suggests a combination of some from each of the two following lists may help –

A: Is:

• optimistic,
• spiritual or religious,
• motivated,
• proactive,
• someone who enjoys learning,
• flexible,
• adaptable,
• socially competent,
• believes in self/has self-esteem.

B: Has:

• opportunity,
• employer/family/other support,
• challenges and difficulties are at manageable level,
• environment is calm,
• is given a high degree of autonomy,
• is trusted as competent.

I was interested that you don’t need all of the above just a combination that works for you.

A Ted talk by Anne Grady said resilience + courage = Triumph.  I believe Triumph is the emotional feeling connected with Thriving.  I plan to listen to more from Anne Grady, she is a speaker for an upcoming education conference I will be chaperoning students.  I get the benefit of hearing the speakers, too.