Thriving, Not Just Surviving

"Live to thrive, not just survive." - The Magnolia Story
by Chip and Joanna Gaines

I feel like I haven’t been thriving lately, but just barely surviving. Going through life just surviving takes it out of you! Between all my classes that I have and group projects for several of those classes, I have had no time for much else. I’m in class from about 9 – 3 almost every day, have group project meetings at night until midnight some nights, go back home Thursday night and work all weekend, from September to November, and come back to college Sunday sometime. Then repeat it all over again. That routine gets real old, real fast.

I’ve felt so drained this first half of the semester with everything. It can take it out of you real quick. I’ve also felt very frustrated because of a few bad grades, not understanding how to do assignments, awful professors, not being able to find a job, or not having enough time for everything. The other day I took a step back and realized I wasn’t happy and was barely staying above water. Something had to change. But I couldn’t just stop completing assignments and working on group projects. What I could do was take a little bit of time for me each day to take a break from homework. Even if that was just laying down and thinking or napping for 20 minutes or planning meals for the week and cooking or baking. So far even just doing it for a few days has already made a difference. A couple weeks ago, I watched the NL Wild Card game with Jeremy before and after a group project meeting. Even if I had to ignore a few assignments, I was going to watch the baseball game no matter what #priorities.  We had pizza and got rally drinks (our choice was lemonade). I also went to bed before 11 pm, which hasn’t happened in a long time! It felt so good to take a break from schoolwork. I definitely needed it.

Another thing that I’ve been doing to start thriving is spending less time on social media, Netflix, and online in general. In order for me to thrive, I have to actually be living and not hiding behind my phone screen or laptop. I never realized how much time I spent online doing things that hold no value and didn't help me progress or get things done. In today's world, we can become so consumed with technology. I'm accustomed to using devices more often than not due to using my phone for work & contacting people and using a computer/my laptop for work this last summer everyday at each of my jobs. But that was necessary.

I know it is impossible for me to completely swear off technology and the Internet. I use my laptop to take notes in class, do assignments, listen to music, do some work for my dad, and email. I use my phone to listen to music, talk on the phone, check the weather, capture memories, Snapchat, and so much more. I don't need to do as much of that though. I can reduce the amount of time I spend on devices and increase the time I spend with people in person and making memories. I know I need to work more on thriving. I want to thrive for the rest of my life. When I look back on my life I want to see many days where I thrived, and not so many where I just survived. So here's to more days where I thrive, and not just survive.

Challenge: Work on living to thrive, not just survive. You can work on it slowly, one piece at a time, but keep at it. It will greatly influence your life and make you happier.