When you’re facing challenging times, how do you overcome and get back to being the creator of your life? What does it take to start thriving? While it may feel like nothing good can come of your circumstances, the truth is that difficult times have within them the seed of possibility. Even the toughest seasons can transform everything and take your life to the next level. As Albert Einstein said, “Crisis is the greatest blessing for people and nations, because crisis brings on progress… It’s in crisis that inventive discoveries and great strategies rise. He who overcomes a crisis overcomes himself without being ‘Overcome.'” We are meant to be the creators of our lives. Anything we can dream about, we can create. We’re not made to merely survive – we’re made to thrive.
How to thrive: 5 ways to be the creator in your own life
If you truly want to thrive, not survive, you need to transform your mindset. You need to stop blaming others and take total ownership of your life and your decisions.
Turn fear into action
Fear often gets in the way of taking that first step toward our goals. We’re afraid of many things: failure, loss, stigmatization. We can even be afraid of success, because it tends to alienate others – and as humans, we all want to belong. The first key to how to thrive is to allow yourself to feel that fear. Ask yourself what it’s telling you. It’s likely that it’s telling you more about your limiting beliefs than actual facts about the state of the world. When we free ourselves from these beliefs, we become unstoppable. We can feel our fears and take action anyway. That’s what it means to thrive, not survive.
Focus on your vision
What we choose to focus on has a massive effect on how we feel. If you focus on things you can’t control, you’ll feel stressed, overwhelmed and depressed. Leaders focus on what they can control: what they have and what they want. This powerful vision goes beyond themselves. Great leaders strive to make a difference in the world. They have strong values and are committed to living by them, whether that means constant innovation, never-ending learning, loyalty or generosity. How to thrive is different for everyone, but it’s always related to your ultimate purpose in life.
Decide and commit
Once you unlock your vision, you’ll discover the one thing that destroys fear faster than anything else: hunger. You’ll know your purpose and do anything to get there. You’ll feel ready to decide what you want more than anything else in life – it may feel like war, but it’s the first step. Then you must commit to your decision so there is no question. Move that mountain. Climb that peak. Thrive, don’t just survive!
