5 Non-BS Ways To Actually Thrive

We all have all different goals in life and different definitions of success. Some of us consider success as making a name for ourselves - whether it be by way of celebrity or by leading a field of study or area of business, or by creating huge social impact - or even just accumulating wealth.

Others want to live a relatively modest existence, where self expression and spiritual connection are at the forefront of what we on a day-to-day basis. The great thing is that all of these are fine and unique and mean different things to different people. But the unifying threat amongst all of us is our desire to thrive in the lives we choose to live. We all want to feel like we are living in the most positive, energetic, meaningful, and engaging way possible.

To us, the concept of thriving in life in life addresses every facet - from physical health to nurturing an optimistic and positive mindset. And it definitely has to do with making decisions on a day-to-day basis, based on our particular ideals, standards, and preferences, our endeavours, goals, and pastimes, that lead to an overall "upward trajectory" as well.

However we also often end up becoming overbalanced in one way or another, usually with regards to things like working excessively, or neglecting the fundamental cornerstone components of a happy life.

So no matter what you want out of life or what thriving means to you, here are 5 cornerstones to check in on to make sure you’re keeping balanced and on that upward trajectory.

Make sleep a real cornerstone part of your wellness routine

Sleep researcher Matthew Walker has described sleep as “your super power.” Sleep is intimately connected with overall well-being, and the ability to thrive in everyday life, to a major degree – and it plays a key role in overall health, ranging from organ function to the performance of the immune system, while also influencing mental performance, mood, and the ability to accurately assess social cues.

Unfortunately, sleep deprivation is arguably more prevalent today than ever before, courtesy not only of the ubiquity of bright electric lighting, but also highly engaging digital devices (which also emit blue light, which disturbs the circadian rhythm if present at night), and increasingly topsy-turvy work schedules for many different individuals around the world.

And the truth is that it’s just not possible to be in really good health, to maintain an optimal mindset, or maybe even a properly optimistic approach to life, if your sleep routines are completely upside down.

Explore herbal remedies

There are all sorts of different conditions and issues that people experience on a day-to-day basis that can be very frustrating, and that can cause significant issues when it comes to maintaining a good overall sense of well-being.

Today, there are a broad range of different treatments and approaches an offer designed to help people to deal with things like headaches, nasal congestion, low mood, and more – but, as many commentators have pointed out, there may be a danger of serious medications with serious side-effects being prescribed for conditions and situations that don't necessarily warrant them – and this can lead to further issues and complications down the line.

One more holistic avenue to explore to help you to deal with mild to moderate issues of this nature on an everyday basis, is to explore powerful herbal remedies that have been used for centuries if not millennia, by different people and cultures around the world.

Herbs for sinus health are just some of the kinds of herbal remedies and supplements that you can find on the market, and there are also herbs such as rhodiola rosea that are known to be effective for alleviating stress, in those moments when you might be rundown and in need of a bit of extra calm.

While not all herbal remedies are innately "safe," and while some need to be treated with just as much care as certain medications, herbal remedies often come with a variety of benefits that make them a preferable first choice approach in helping to resolve or mitigate a range of different issues, including the fact that they frequently have significantly fewer side-effects, and a long history of use.

Even something as straightforward as drinking a chamomile tea to relax at the end of the day, or a peppermint tea to help you to perk up, can have a real and substantial effect.

Get out in nature as often as possible

Getting out into nature on a regular basis – ideally as often as possible – seems to have a profound ability to alleviate stress, to provide a greater sense of wholeness, connection, and well-being, and also to promote good health in a range of different ways.

As Diana Beresford-Kroeger points out in her documentary “Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees,” trees and forests not only play a vitally important role in maintaining the health and balance of the ecosystem as a whole, but they also release healing compounds into the air and their surroundings that seem to promote health, among other things.

Today, more and more people live in urban environments, and often have very little – if any – regular contact with green spaces.

But getting out into nature can serve as something of an antidote to the stress and hectic experience of everyday life that psychologists and sociologists alike have long associated with city living.

Connect you with your sense of intuition

It’s been said by all sorts of different spiritual traditions and teachers out there, that connecting with your own sense of intuition, instead of being too caught up in the argumentation, theorizing, and narratives of the logical mind, is essential for true thriving in life.

When you think about it, the deepest experiences in life, and the most meaningful ones, are the kinds of things that you have to directly experience. They are not the kind of things that you can meaningfully engage with by just thinking about them or debating them.

Take love, for example. When you love someone, you love them. This is the kind of intuitive experience that can't be put into words, and can’t be reduced down to a list of "reasons."

Taking up practices that connect you more with your sense of intuition – especially practices that have a creative component, such as painting, creative writing, or even woodworking – can help to give you a more direct and meaningful sense of contact with your “inner world," and all of the things in life that matter to you on the deepest and most enduring levels.

Many people find themselves essentially going through day-to-day life perpetually chasing after things, whether money, status, a career title, or any number of other things.

While there's certainly nothing wrong with any of those things – when you become overly fixated on any one of them, you risk missing out on the present moment, and on the deeper connections that give life so much of its depth, texture, and meaning.

Reconnecting with your intuitive side can help to reset the balance here.

Find time for regular face-to-face interactions with loved ones and people in general

It's a truly great thing that, today, there are so many ways for us to keep in touch with our loved ones even when we are separated by a significant span of physical distance.

At the same time, though, face-to-face interaction with your loved ones is the kind of thing that there just isn't any substitute for, and it's something that can have a very profound impact on your overall ability to experience a sense of thriving over the course of everyday life.

Researchers have found that direct human contact – particularly with those we love and care for the most – is so powerful that the physical touch of a loved one has the power to reduce physiological markers of stress.

Over the last couple of years of the global COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, everyone has – for the most part – been socially distancing and experiencing less direct contact with others in a face-to-face context, than they would have before.

While it’s important to be mindful of proper safety practices, however, finding time for regular face-to-face interactions with your loved ones, and with other people in general, can be absolutely fundamental when it comes to helping you to thrive in life.