Survive or Thrive

Are you just trying to survive another day?

If we are not careful, we can begin to develop a survival mindset that can create scarcity, feelings of being a victim, drawing inward and even depression.

Many years ago, as a young missionary, I was serving in Peru in an area called La Esperanza, (The Hope).  I didn’t understand why it was called The Hope because this area had one paved road, deep sand, occasional electricity, very little running water, and three inch cockroaches that dominated our apartment.

Each day our meals consisted of warm canned milk, chicken with the hair still on it, a banana, and a hard roll. Surrounded all day long by deep poverty and tremendous challenges, each evening we would fall on our beds feeling mentally and physically exhausted and say, “We survived another day!”

One night my companion said “I think we are supposed to do more than just survive, I think we are supposed to be doing some good!” The light of this idea began to flicker, glow and within a couple of days we began to find many ways to serve.

Our lives moved from surviving to thriving. Self-esteem increased, we were happier, and life became very rewarding even though the food, cockroaches, and the environment were still the same.

Try this today and “Do Some Good”

1. Find the Good in People and tell them about it.
2. Look for the Good in their ideas and tell them so.
3. Spend Time with them – Show Up/ Be Present when you are with them.
4. Give them the Gift of You, the Real You!

PS  The path to moving from simply surviving life, work, or a relationship to a place of thriving starts with the habit of thinking that we have created. These thought processes drive our lives into Surviving or Thriving.