Are you in survival mode, doing what you can just to get by, or are you actually living? Do you spend your days going through the motions of life, or are you an active participant? Are you thriving in life, or are you merely surviving?
To survive in life merely means to exist. To be a breathing body, on a large rock, floating through space. Surviving is choosing the road of least resistance, engaging in dysfunctional thinking, feeling stuck, lacking passion, and purpose. You most likely feel stressed out, burnt out, and exhausted. Your heart and soul lack peace and joy, and you navigate through life, feeling hopeless.
Surviving is wishing for the workday to be over, counting down the days until the next paycheck, or praying for retirement to come sooner. The reality of survival is that you're essentially wishing for your life to be over. That, my friend, is not living.
To thrive in life is to live your life with intention and purpose, to be an active participant — thriving means growing mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You aren't caught up in the rat race of life wishing for a future date to arrive. You are present. Your heart and soul are calm and at peace.
No one gets to the end of their life and regrets what they did do. They regret what they didn't do. They regret working too much, saying no too often, and not taking chances. People regret not showing up in their life and soaking up all of its glorious moments.
If you're tired of watching life pass you by like a storm cloud on a hot summer night, be sure to give these best life tips a try:
Cultivate Meaningful Friendships
We all need friends who know we are lying when we say we are okay. The tight-knit group of sisters who have your back no matter what. Friends that bring joy to your life and give you space to cry. Those who encourage you to strive for greatness and call you out when you are speaking unkindly to yourself. Families and partners are great, but everyone needs a buddy.
Need a safe space for connection? Click here to join the courageously.u community over on facebook. It's a private community full of courageous women just like you.
Engage In Self-care
Self-care is any activity that recharges you mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. It can be a small daily practice or a larger once-weekly practice. All that matters is that you’re making self-care a priority in your life. You can't show up as your best self in life if you're running on an empty tank, right?!?
Chase Audacious Goals
You have this one life to live, so chase those audacious goals no matter how terrifying they might be. Don’t allow fear of failure to keep you benched. You can do hard things and are worthy of achieving your best life. Just remember to engage in self-care along your journey.
Live Life With Intention
Don't just go through the motions of life. Be intentional! Do things on purpose, with thought and meaning. Identify your priorities and work towards them daily. Actively choose how you will show up in life each day.
Establish Healthy Relationships
Thriving requires boundaries. Guidelines for what you will and will not tolerate from others. Consider boundaries a self-love bubble you encapsulate yourself in. You get to decide what negative energy you’ll allow in. You get to choose how you’ll be treated and what the consequences will be when those boundaries are crossed.
Don’t Settle
Don't roll over and die when life gets hard. Don't settle because you fear you'll never get another option. If Mr. Right Now doesn't excite you, move on. If you're miserable in your job, get a new one. You deserve more than second best, so don't trick yourself into believing you don't.
Nourish Your Mind
Eat brain-healthy foods to ensure you run at optimal performance. Avoid toxic media like the plague. Expose your cortex to educational podcasts, self-help books, and inspiring T.V. shows that help you grow mentally and emotionally. Also, be sure to get plenty of sleep, move your body, and allow your mind to rest.
Give Back To The World
To cultivate a meaningful life, you need to look outside yourself and give back. That could be holding the door for someone, paying for the car behind yous coffee, volunteering your time in the community, or donating to a cause near and dear to your heart. One small daily practice puts you one step closer to thriving.
Believe In Your Worth
Thriving in life is believing deep down in your core that you are worthy of every great thing in this world. You deserve joy and happiness just as much as anyone else. Your worth is not dependent on what you have, how you look, or what you achieve. It's dependent on your heart, and you showing up in life as a good human.
Be Present In Your Life
If you wish for tomorrow, you miss out on today. For every second that passes is a second you’ll never get back. To ensure life doesn’t pass you by, be sure to engage in mindfulness. Ground yourself in the present moment, lift your eyes from your screen, and notice all the beauty that surrounds you.