What does “thriving” mean to you?
Thriving means reaching beyond survival for a better life each day. I think you’re in a state of thriving when you’re moving in the direction of your dreams with a mind toward enjoying the journey. You’re thriving if you make the effort everyday to lift yourself out of negative thoughts, worry, fear and doubt and face the world on a daily basis with freedom, power, love, and confidence.
What do you do on a regular basis in an effort to thrive?
I think the key to my thriving is making sure I’m working on it all day long. I wake up extremely early and meditate for at least 10 minutes. I haven’t yet gotten around to giving up coffee, not that I have intended to. So I drink coffee. I go to the gym. I walk home, buying The Post for my man on the way.
On the way to work, I’ll listen to an inspiring lecture or I’ll listen to instrumental or happy music while reading something enjoyable or informational. I have recently taken to look at my office job as just part of my daily routine, instead of as a drain on my personal time. I try to really live in love with the parts of my job that I enjoy. And I steer very clear of any office drama. I try not to take anything personally. And I make sure I get out of the office, even for five minutes, each day. Those are my rules for work, actually. Love what you can love. Really love it. Steer clear of drama. Don’t take anything personally. And get outside once a day.
I run any errands I need to do after work, typically, and I come home and eat dinner with my man. I do something writing. And I always write in pen, in a journal, my gratitude list for the day, when I get into bed (hopefully on the early side.)
In what ways have you gone from survival mode to thrivival mode?
Since I began practicing intenSati, this amazing cardio workout that pairs martial arts, yoga, aerobics, and conditioning movements with positive affirmations, which I subsequently became certified to teach, I have really committed to cleaning up my thinking. I think I always had the capacity for this thinking, I just never tapped into it before. My thinking was muddled, negative, blaming, resentful, angry, confused and fearful. Now the affirmations run through my mind all day. I have picked up a number of beneficial lifestyle habits through intenSati and other coaches and mentors who have come into my life as a result. My meditation practice, my commitment to releasing fear, drama, blame and resentment, my pursuit of scholars and books to broaden my thinking are all a testament to my desire, my commitment, to thriving. I am doing and feeling better than ever.
What are some things that get in the way of your efforts to thrive?
My own thoughts are the only things that can get in the way of my efforts to thrive. When my thinking turns toward fear (of failure, of success, of rejection, of too much work, of too much time and nothing to do), when I am anxious, when I am grasping instead of “being,” when I am feeling frustrated because things aren’t happening fast enough for me, when I am not trusting my instincts and the universe, I am not thriving. They best news though, is that I can change that in a moment, in an hour, in a day. However long it takes.
If you feel low, how do you boost your level of thriving?
Working out, specifically doing intenSati, always, always, lifts me up.
