What does it mean to really Thrive? How can we thrive in both business and life? And what are the tools and practices which can support the process? These just are a few of the questions which form the basis of Thrive School – a new type of school for supporting people bring their visions and ideas to life and build sustaining, values-led ventures around them.
In this four-part series Thrive School founder, Clare Mulvany, will share some of the innovative leadership, self-care and creative principles and practices from the Thrive School learning model, helping you to refine your own understanding of what Thriving means and build your own Thriving tools and skillset. First off is an invitation to re-examine what success on your own terms looks like.
Part One: Learning to Thrive- Defining the measure of your success
What does success look like for you?
It is a simple yet very powerful question. With so much influence from media, advertising, external demands and expectations we can all too easily get derailed from our own intrinsic sense of self and success. But spending time deconstructing ‘success’ and re-building it in our own image and on our own terms can help us to reclaim our time, power, money, worth and energy.
There are lots of ways to dive deep into this exploration of success. Exploring it from the different perspectives of career, wellbeing, relationships, leadership and soul connection is a useful aide to incorporating the full spectrum of life.
Here are three journaling and reflection exercises to help you start the process. As you write keep each of the areas mentioned above in your mind.
1. Enough
What if we already have enough to thrive? What if success was simply to value what we already have? How radical would this be!
So a good place to start when thinking about thriving is to reflect on the areas in your life where you already have ‘enough’. It’s like taking an inventory of the areas where you are not lacking or wanting. Set a timer for three minutes, and go. Try to keep writing for the full three minutes.
Afterwards, take a few moments to reflect on your responses. What themes or patterns do you notice? Do any of your answers surprise you?
(While doing this exercise with Thrive School participants, some beautiful responses emerged. Included were: time, nature connection, air, gravity, money, excuses, friendship, ideas, talent, cuddles, opportunity. The responses were different for each person but by taking stock of ‘enough’ it helps to see that success may already be closer than we think… )
2. Ideal day
Another great way to get a sense of what success looks for you is to choose a sample ‘ideal day’ in the future- one year from now, three years from now, five years from now. This exercise gives you a chance to walk through the imaginary day in your mind- accessing your conscious and unconscious desires and expectations. Read though all the questions below and then spend a bit of time contemplating each part of the ideal day. You could also choose to do two versions of this- one for a regular working day, and one from a weekend or a day off. To help you on the process;
Morning:
Where are you when you wake up? What do you see/ hear/ smell? Describe your morning routine- food/ exercise/ family time etc. What you choose to wear? What does this tell you about your day?
During the day:
Describe your working environment. What is your favourite aspect of it? Who are you with? Or are you alone or with co-workers?
What is the rhythm of the day? What are the main activities you are engaged in? What brings you joy during the day?
What conversations are you having? How do you feel during the day?
Evening time:
How do you spend your evening? Where do you have your evening meal? Are you alone or is anyone else with you?
Do you have an evening routine?
What are you grateful for at the end of the day?
Following this exercise, take a few moments to reflect on how this helps you to craft your own understanding of success- taking account of the personal and professional. Does anything surprise you from your responses? Now, what aspects of your future ideal day can your bring into your life right now?
3. A Letter from the Future
Once again we are hopping into the future in our imaginations, but this time choose a distant time, when you see yourself 20, 30 or 40 years from now, conversing back to the current version of you.
Write a letter from this future version of you, back to your present self. It’s really nice to handwrite the letter on quality paper and place it in an envelope for safekeeping so you can refer back to it when you need a reminder your own advice and wisdom.
Include responses to the following questions:
What advice would your future self give to your current self? What key steps did your future self take to create a successful life? What mindsets or limiting beliefs did you need to let go of? Who were your main allies or supporters along the way?
These are just a few of the ways to start constructing your own definition of success. In the next part of the series, we will continue the exploration of what it means to Thrive and explore the principle of managing energy over time, and will be sharing some practical steps you can take to do so.
Clare Mulvany is the founder of Thrive School, supporting people to catalyse their own personal and professional dreams and visions though entrepreneurial learning programmes, courses, workshops and private coaching. Dublin one day workshops are taking place on January 22nd and February 18th, and a new four month Dublin programme is starting in mid-March. More programmes in Cork, Galway and other nationwide locations to follow. Find out more: claremulvany.ie
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