How many times have you had someone share with you some difficulty they were going through only to finish it off by saying, “But I’ll survive”.  While surviving is great, wouldn’t it be wonderful to thrive in life?  Sounds good on paper, but how many of us go through this survival before we say, “Enough is enough”.  Most of us put up with things with don’t like until our lives reach a point of being so intolerable that we have an enough-is-enough moment.  This moment can come from within or from without.  We may read something, attend a seminar, or simply be told something that changes our perspective and makes us decide that from now on we will change our life.

Everybody wants to thrive.  Survival is boring.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could wake up earlier to this enough-is-enough moment?  What would it mean if we do it one, two, three, 10, 20 or 30 years earlier than it takes some of us to realise that we can be whatever we want to be and that it’s never too late to change our ways of being and doing.  It would be short of miracle for most of us to be in that state of mind for all of our lives.  To be in the zone, they say.  What would it mean for our loved ones, our communities, our countries and mankind if we were in the zone of thriving for the most of our lives?  Aren’t we a bit curious?  Why wouldn’t we decide this instance that from tomorrow 8 o’clock in the morning we will change every “survival” aspect of our lives and replace it with vigorous thriving.

What is survival?  Survival is accepting that we are never going to be what we once dreamed of becoming.  Survival is always being late for work and appointments and not doing anything about it.  Survival is not sticking to our promises to keep a diet.  Survival is taking for granted those who love us.  Survival is putting up with an abusive partner, saying to ourselves that they will change one day.  If survival was a city, its median sunny day count would be 30 out of 365.  Who wants to live in a place where clouds, rain, snow and storm rule for most of the year?  Some people do.  But rarely it is by choice.  Usually it is by habit.  Habits run our lives.  Most of us would like to be rich, healthy, loved, attractive, smart, have talents, toys, cars, houses, travel around the world, and be important.  But how many of us can say that our actions reflect our desires?  How many of us are happy to look ourselves in the mirror and say I love you?  How many of us are surviving, but calling it a great life?  People are born all over the world, some stay put where they are all their lives, some go from bad to worse and drag others with them, while some decide to move and find a better place under the sun.

Don’t just survive, thrive!  Go to work on your dreams and put them into actions.  Set sail towards the sunny side.  Don’t wait for others to show you the way, lead your own way.  Be your own follower.  What you will find is that others will follow you.  For strength, resolve and courage to decide what you want and then persist doing what is necessary to achieve it in spite of naysayers and adverse situations attract other like-minded people.  You will not be alone in your quest when you are in the zone.  It won’t be long before you’ll realise that you are no longer a mere survivor, but you’re living the life that throbs and greets every day with expectant excitement and joy.  You will not drag anybody with you, you will inspire and prop everyone around you up with your success at living the life you desired and designed for yourself.  You will thrive.