THRIVE: Redefining Success and Creating a Happier Life - by Arianna Huffington

Leading a good life and its meaning has been a discussion for centuries among philosophers and psychologists, and in the last decade as the importance of ‘wellness’ and ‘wellbeing’ started to become more mainstream, it started to become an important topic among many. Thankfully – as there has been a widespread longing among so many to redefine success and the meaning of leading “the good life” 

In year 2015, I was lucky to meet Arianna Huffington - co-founder and once the editor-in-chief of Huffington Post – one of the most influential women in the world, and read her book ‘THRIVE’.  I have always admired her work and philosophy of life as a business women and an ambassador of wellness based living and sleep.  Through Thrive she created a huge and necessary call-out to raise awareness that success is not and should not be measured only by money and power as it has been; but more importantly by a third metric. A third metric that consists of four pillars: Well-being, Wisdom, Wonder and Giving. Four pillars that we need to work on in order to live a healthy, productive, and meaningful life.

No matter how ‘successful’ your business is and how much money you are earning; if you are not taking care of your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health in check, you are going to stumble in life. As life is definitely not about money or power, but having the wisdom to know that you are part of a greater good, you need to take care of yourself and be productive to love and be supportive to yourself, all you love, your community and the mother earth, our home, to fully appreciate life and live with joy, contentment and gratefulness.

 This is not to say money and power are not important, but they are only two of the three legs that holds your world in balance. If you only look for money and power, in time you will see that life starts to become meaningless, you will feel a lack, a deep hole that you are trying to fill up and not sure how, which is now scientifically proven as well. Living with purpose and the 4 pillars wakes up to the real point, the real meaning of living.

The book highlights asking ourselves not ‘what do I want to do’ but ‘What kind of life do I want to have’. To define success by health, peace and love for living.

This is a revolution of the way we experience life, our culture, and our thinking supported by science and practical insights.

 Making conscious choices to creating and choosing healthier and happier life is in your hands and there are many tools including transformative affects of mediation, mindfulness and positive psychology to support you to find your way, to find yourself and your inner peace.

Rumi Says:

“You wonder from room to room

Hunting for the diamond necklace

That is already around your neck.”

Arianna Huffington wonderfully wrote in her book:

“Through the inner work, find your place to stand – your place of wisdom and peace and strength. From that place, remake the world in your own image, according to your own definition of success, so all women and men can thrive and live our lives with more grace, more joy, more compassion, more kindness, more gratitude, and more love.”

 To me a life lived with these qualities is a well lived successful life.

 Hope you will enjoy reading, and I hope the book will be an inspiration to you as much as it is for me.

 Love, Selin