Instead, it is a continuum, often without an upper limit. Where one stands regarding these dimensions is a question of degree. Work in one area can have benefits in another. They also provide a practical perspective useful in daily life. These dimensions help me understand the concepts underlying flourishing.
I divide thriving into several dimensions that have been most relevant for guiding my life. Immanuel Kant said, “Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.” Part of thriving involves being a good person which may not contribute to feeling happy. Doing the right thing and being a good person is sometimes painful. Thriving sometimes means acting in ways that don’t produce good feelings. It is important but just a part and in some ways a minor one. Yet my view is that thriving is much more than feeling good. Likely most people use feeling good and flourishing synonymously. Many positive psychology books focus on positive feelings. People who flourish often have positive emotions. It is a mistake to conflate thriving with feelings of well-being and happiness. This science provides good insights and valuable theories of flourishing to go with the teachings of philosophers and religions. There are empirical studies, definitions, data, and models on happiness and thriving. There is a whole field of positive psychology focused on what makes people healthy psychologically rather than the traditional focus on illness. Martin Seligman, Jonathan Haidt, and Ed Diener have all researched happiness topics and written excellent books and articles. More recently, psychologists have studied thriving and happiness. Judeo-Christian teachings also address happiness and thriving. Many other moral philosophers such as David Hume, Emanual Kant, John Stuart Mill, and Adam Smith address the issue in their writings. His Nicomachean Ethics and related works are valuable resources. Aristotle provides a foundation with his concept of happiness (eudaimonia). There is a deep body of knowledge to draw upon to produce a practical or operational definition of thriving. That is why it makes such a good purpose. Thriving as a never-ending process of becoming rather than a state of being. One can do well for a while and then fall apart. Thriving is not a static goal – it is not achieved, and victory declared. I found no way around having a rich and multifaced definition of thriving if it was going to be my purpose. Making purpose practical requires complexity because it is applied to specific situations where there are always complicating factors. The definition of thriving should be operational. Daily actions and decisions should connect with my purpose. The guidance I seek needs to be practical. I wanted to define thriving with enough breadth and depth to guide my whole life, not just part of it. One can have a strong spiritual life but still feel something is missing. Narrow or simple purposes seem to ignore large parts of life.
That may work for them and is better than having no purpose.Ī narrow approach didn’t work for me because I see life as complicated. Many people, perhaps most, adopt simple and narrow definitions of thriving and purpose. Or perhaps a withdrawal from society to seek a purely spiritual life. Maybe a simple concept like love could be enough. I hoped early in my journey that purpose and thriving could be simple. Thriving for me has several components, each with its history and impact. There is a large body of knowledge about thriving from both philosophical and psychological perspectives.ĭefining thriving is a challenge but a workable definition is needed if it is going to service as life’s purpose. The Greeks used the term eudaimonia, often translated as happiness, but perhaps better translated as thriving or flourishing. Thriving has been discussed and considered for thousands of years. But the term is rich in meaning and can be interpreted in practical ways. What does thriving mean? The term sounds positive but vague. I should be able to judge the value of other life goals by asking whether they further thriving or not. To thrive as a human being has become my purpose - the overriding goal that other subsidiary life goals should align with.
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