Thrive It Up

Instead of being easily influenced by situations or comments, those who thrive find value in everything that comes their way.

They refuse to stay mired in survival mode. They've truly learned that what you get is what you see.

The amazing part about the philosophy and their whole approach to life is that these folks aren't spared from negative circumstances. They have flat tires. They sit in traffic. They get bad news about a project at work. Their child gets bullied at school. They lose jobs. They experience loss, death and hard times like everyone else.

I've studied these thrivers (as I call them) to see how they think, act, and live. I wanted to know what made them tick. How and why they reacted the way they did to particular circumstances, many of which seemed hard (read: challenging, devastating, and/or long) to me. Mostly unbeknownst (Is that an awesome word or what? It has two prefixes and two suffixes. Probably a grammatical record.) to these people, I observed their attitude and behaviors. I longed to be more like them. Why? Because:

* They move beyond negative issues, comments and events that threaten to choke the joy, peace and contentment from their lives.

* They count their blessings.

* They live in the moment--refusing to dwell on yesterday's heartache or tomorrow's deadlines.

* They dwell on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).

* They get past their past and don't allow it to damage or threaten their future.

* Each day is a present because each day they are present. They show up for everything, whether it be good, bad, beautiful, ugly, easy, difficult, comfortable, unpleasant.

They live like a thermostat, meaning they set their own temperature, instead of a thermometer, which merely registers the existing temperature of everything around them. They don't wait to see if the forecast includes sunshine or rain. They choose sunshine, regardless of the weather around them.

To borrow from the Jeff Foxworthy's joke "You might be a redneck if . . . ," you might be ready to thrive if:

* You're sick and tired of being sick and tired

* You know there's more to life

* You want to stop beating your head against a brick wall

* You want to move beyond mediocrity

* You want to live in the moment and experience abundance

I still have a lot to learn from people who embrace this philosophy. But I'm headed in the right direction. Bottom line: If I spend less time rehashing everything I did wrong yesterday and stop worrying about what might happen tomorrow, I'll enjoy today a whole lot more.

I hope you'll join me in this quest.

Leslie co-authored A Scrapbook of Motherhood Firsts, which released in April 2012. To thrive it up, visit her website and blog at www.lesliewilson.com.

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