What’s thriving anyway?
In a world characterised by constant change and disruption, transformation has often been driven by necessity – adapt or die. While this reactive approach to change has undeniably propelled human progress, there is a persuasive argument for a different kind of transformation, one centred on thriving rather than mere survival.
Aspirational
Thriving represents a deliberate pursuit of unlocking new dimensions of human potential, encompassing growth, well-being, development, learning, cognitive advancement, and care. This concept sharply contrasts with change triggered reactively by crises, harm, and external pressures, which often define themselves in terms of what they aim to escape rather than what they aim to create. Thus, thriving sets a target on an existence that offers more than mere survival - it is beyond reducing, or preventing, bad things. So, by definition, thriving is aspirational, reaching into untapped potential, exploring opportunities, and unleashing new levels of functioning. As such, thriving sits in the realm of business-as-possible, rather than business as usual. Thriving entails an exploration of new possibilities and a willingness to examine and redefine the very notion of success.
Proactive purpose
Instead of waiting for problems to surface, the aspiration towards thriving encourages individuals, organisations, and even societies to proactively seek opportunities for improvement and progress. It invites us to pursue purpose, to have a burning desire for a world that is waiting to come, even when everything is going ok. It represents a stance where individuals and entities are influencers of their own destinies, actively shaping their future rather than merely reacting to it. This proactive approach empowers us to embrace change as a catalyst for growth and to seize opportunities for a better, more prosperous tomorrow.
Energy producing
Making progress towards what you want to achieve or experience, rather than what you want to avoid, generates more energy as you progress. On the other hand, reducing the likelihood of what you want to avoid, will zap the motivation to address the issue at hand. There are of course many other positive goals to go after than thriving (e.g. success, flourishing, well-being, excellence, mastery). The point here however is that channeling efforts toward what you want to achieve can generate momentum and motivation that is self-reinforcing from progress. And once a milestone/progress is achieved, people are more likely to look for what else to grow or progress.
Built on iteration
Experimentation, prototyping, and innovation play pivotal roles within the thriving paradigm. Thriving has no established best practices or standards to implement. Instead, it demands an explorative approach – learning as one goes, gleaning insights from both dead ends and successes, experimenting with new ideas, technologies, and approach and continuously iterating toward the North Star of thriving. Prototyping involves inviting the alluring future to here and now by creating small-scale, tangible versions of ideas or concepts to test their viability and refine them iteratively. By prototyping, individuals and organisations can quickly identify flaws, make necessary adjustments, and fine-tune their applications before scaling them up.
Multiple outcomes
Thriving extends beyond economic success, giving centrality to physical, mental, creative and emotional faculties and experiences of individuals, communities, and the larger system. This holistic approach recognises that genuine success should not come at the expense of the many entanglements associated with an activity. While financial prosperity is undoubtedly important, it should not be pursued at the expense of other critical elements of life, such as relationships, health, personal development, and community engagement, and growth should not be at the expense of well-being. The holistic approach to success seeks gains across all these dimensions.
In Conclusion
When individuals envision an ideal system, they often describe it in terms of long-term thinking and future oriented decision-making, creative exploration, constant learning and sharing, collaboration, respect, and peer-to-peer accountability. Furthermore, everyone agrees that such a thriving system would mitigate unwanted outcomes such as harm, illness, pollution, and exploitation, but accept that these are not the things to explicitly focus as driver for change on as they are by-products.
Ultimately, the choice of how we respond to our circumstances is crucial: do we react out of fear and necessity, or do we embrace the opportunity to create a future where people have the agency to bring about the changes we seek?
While traditional reasons for change will always have their place, the thriving paradigm offers a compelling alternative, one that leads to brighter opportunities, greater innovation, and more sustainable motivation. By embracing growth, well-being, and innovation as the driving forces of transformation, individuals, organizations, and societies can chart a course toward a more prosperous and promising future."
