Survive vs. Thrive
May 15, 2007
In the work that I do with clients, we spend chunks of time identifying and re-establishing their beliefs. The entire process is beyond the bounds of this blog, but I want to tempt the palate of your mind by inviting you to pay attention to your perceptions. Perceptions offer you insight into what you believe and give you a vantage point for changing them.
Why bother you might ask?
Beliefs, and the perceptions that belie them, are what drive the thoughts, feeling and actions that ultimately determine the outcome of our lives.
Recognizing that we have choice in how we perceive empowers us into possibilities that we may not have considered before.
There are endless perspectives through which you can view yourself, others or a situation.
However, I have categorized perspectives as being ones that either help you just survive or a position that helps you thrive. Lets take a look at the difference between survive and thrive.
Survive is about endurance and perseverance under extreme circumstances. It is a good thing to have skills that allow us to survive but as a state of mind it is not an ideal way to live our daily life. It leaves us with a sense of having little or no choice.
Thrive on the other hand is about prospering, flourishing. A healthy and light body and mind depend on perspectives that thrive. In thrive we have an abundance of choice.
Consider what it is like to look through the lens of survive vs. thrive.
Viewing Thru the Lens of Survive vs. Thru the Lens of Thrive
Blame vs. Self-responsibility
Defensive vs. Receptive
Opinionated vs. Open
Arrogant vs. Humble
Fearful vs. Trusting
Resistant vs. Willing
Perfection vs. Excellence
Self-doubt vs. Confidence
Hatred vs. Forgiveness
Rigid vs. Flexible
Anxious vs. Calm
Shifting perspectives is an experiment in viewing differently.
Identify the survival perspective that you are viewing a situation through. Then try viewing it through the lens of its opposite, or another thrive perspective.
Look at it strictly as an experiment in viewing differently. What do you experience?
