Thrive by Arianna Huffington: The Power of a Book to Help us Thrive

How often do you read a book that REALLY makes you think?

Thrive by Arianna Huffington is a beautifully written reminder to return to our inner wisdom.  To reconnect with ourselves and each other.  A reminder of what really matters.  Through her retelling of life’s ups and downs the author helps us to rethink our priorities.  She shares touching personal stories and practical advice that we can apply to our lives.  Thrive by Arianna Huffington reminded me of the power of a book to help us thrive.  This book leaves you feeling motivated and inspired!  Having it with me during lockdown was such a win!

In Thrive, Arianna Huffington talks about the concept of success and how we need to redefine what success means to us

The core message: money and power are no longer enough.  Give me a hell yeah!  She introduces us to the 3^rd metric of success, measuring our wisdom, well-being and wonder.  Essentially, success should be more about balance and finding joy than financial reward.  This is something we all know, but have pushed aside for the sake of ‘fitting in’.  I cannot express how much I want to push the message in her book out into the world!  The way she writes, in a conversational way, clearly lays her ideas out on the table so that they really sink in.  The concepts are not new or difficult to understand but so well presented that they ring true on a deeper level.  Quite possibly it is a message we just really want to hear.

It is time to find balance in order to thrive

It is becoming the norm to take on more than we can physically and emotionally manage for the sake of approval and success.  One of the subjects discussed in the book is meditation.  How it helps us to remain calm in stressful situations and its benefits for our general well-being.  Having practiced meditation myself I know that this is not the woo woo, out there craziness it was once seen as.  Meditation is undoubtedly the most effective stress release tool available to us all.  And, it is 100% free, easy to use and accessible.  All it requires is a simple mindset shift.  If you have never tried it before I seriously encourage you to give it a go.  Find a quite time to center yourself and re-connect with who you really are.  Trust me you have never felt so at peace!

A major piece of the puzzle is the spirit of giving

Another all important aspect is the emotional rewards that come with the spirit of giving.  She reminds us how important it is that giving becomes a part of our everyday life.  We all belong to one family and when we help each other this truth comes to light in our hearts.  There is no longer a sense of separation between us.  We remember that we are connected, and it is a wonderful and powerful thing.

I could go on for days about the wealth of wisdom in her words, but what fascinated me was the subject of sleep. How important it is to get a good night’s rest.  How did we get to this place in society where sleep is seen as a chore, something to have to ‘get through’?  The Ancient Egyptians prepared themselves for sleep, saw it as a spiritual practise.  There is something so appealing to me in this idea.  They believed that when they slept, they received divine guidance.  How incredible is this idea?  That going to bed at night can be a respite from the challenges of the day.  That it isn’t just to ‘shut down’, but to gain wisdom and inspiration.  If I could teach this to my 8yr old maybe he would finally stop dropping his shoulders and squealing ‘I hate bedtime!’ every night.

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We are all looking for ways to find solace from the pressing issues of our daily lives  

Let’s start with this one.  Just this one.  Sleep.  Let’s recognize an opportunity in sleep.  Embrace this experience.  Make it something to be acknowledged and appreciated for its benefits to our overall well-being.  I think this could be something we learn to love and look forward to every day.  I think it should be.  Find ways to turn this into a ritual of self-nourishment.  Have a warm bath or shower before bedtime.  Burn some lavender oil beside your bed or add a few droplets onto your pillow.  Take a moment to consider your top 10 list of things to be grateful for.  Meditate for at least 10-20min.  By the time you drift off to sleep you will be in the most peaceful state of mind, ready to re-fuel your body and mind for the next day.  Sleep, ah sleep!

It is easy to see it as a waste of time in our oh-to-busy lives, but truly, it is one of our greatest blessings.  Learn to recognize the benefits in sleep, embrace them, and you will see it change your life.

At the heart of it all is a ‘returning to self’

that resonates deeply with me and where I am at in my life right now.  And, the idea of ‘don’t wait until it’s too late’.  We have the notion that life is short.  What if we recognized the benefits of simple pleasures such as a good nights sleep and the spirit of giving?  Would our quality of life improve if we understood the importance of these ‘simple things’? If we could manage to find balance in our lives it would enable us to live a life of quality rather than quantity.  And, then, at the end of each day we could lay our heads down on our pillows with a different point of view on life.

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