From surviving to thriving
My mother always said you cannot appreciate the sun without the rain. Wiser words have never been spoken. And as with every setback in life, I believe we can all appreciate our circumstances more after the rain. The pendulum always swings and according to a recent Gallup Life Evaluation Index poll, “despite hardships from Covid, drought, heatwaves, wildfires, and resurgent inflation, three in five Americans say they are pretty happy with their lot in life.”¹
“Gallup classifies Americans as “thriving,” “struggling” or “suffering” according to how they rate their current and future lives on a scale from 0 to 10. Those who rate their current life a 7 or higher, and their anticipated life in five years as 8 or higher, are classified as thriving.”¹
So what does it mean to move from surviving to thriving? Well, according to the dictionary thriving is defined as to grow vigorously; to gain wealth or possessions; to prosper and; to progress toward a goal despite circumstances. This describes a large percentage of Americans and according to the survey, “the rapid recovery of current life satisfaction, coupled with the sustained elevated level of anticipated life satisfaction, has fueled the thriving percentage to its current heights.”¹
The poll also gathered information about worry and stress as well as life enjoyment. “The percentage of people who reported experiencing significant stress and worry “a lot of the day yesterday” showed unprecedented increases at the beginning of the pandemic, with stress rising 14 percentage points to 60% and worry rising 20 points to 58%.”¹ The reporting suggests that those experiencing stress and worry dropped to pre-pandemic levels for both.¹
In 2018-2019, about 80% of U.S. adults reported significant enjoyment the day before, which plunged to 61% at the onset of the pandemic. By June, enjoyment was back up to 73% of the adult population. More than being a result of the vaccination rollout or improving economic conditions, the authors of the study theorize that the happiness boom was a result of the critical psychological benefit of renewed social interaction.¹
Seven in ten Americans agree, 2020 made them a better person. “In general, seventy-two percent said they found themselves caring about the health and well-being of others significantly more in the past year.”² More people had time to think about others and transform their lives in meaningful ways and some are emerging stronger, happier, healthier, wealthier and wise – moving from just surviving to thriving.
How are you feeling?
Are you in survival mode or have you begun to thrive?
If you have joined the list of Americans that are thriving, in what ways is your life changing for the better?
Come as you are, leave feeling better
#everydaywellness
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Sources:
¹ The Good News Network, More Americans now consider themselves to be ‘thriving” than at any point in 13-years: Gallup, staff author, July 18, 2021 https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/more-americans-consider-themselves-now-to-be-thriving-than-at-any-point-in-13-years-gallop/ , Last accessed October 11, 2021, direct excerpts:
a) “Despite hardships from Covid, drought, heatwaves, wildfires, and resurgent inflation, three in five Americans say they are pretty happy with their lot in life.”
b) “The rapid recovery of current life satisfaction, coupled with the sustained elevated level of anticipated life satisfaction, has fueled the thriving percentage to its current heights.”
c) “Gallup classifies Americans as “thriving,” “struggling” or “suffering” according to how they rate their current and future lives on a scale from 0 to 10. Those who rate their current life a 7 or higher, and their anticipated life in five years as 8 or higher, are classified as thriving.”
d) “The percentage of people who reported experiencing significant stress and worry “a lot of the day yesterday” showed unprecedented increases at the beginning of the pandemic, with stress rising 14 percentage points to 60% and worry rising 20 points to 58%.”
e) “In 2018-2019, about 80% of U.S. adults reported significant enjoyment the day before, which plunged to 61% at the onset of the pandemic. By June, enjoyment was back up to 73% of the adult population.
f) More than being a result of the vaccination rollout or improving economic conditions, the authors of the study theorize that the happiness boom was a result of the critical psychological benefit of renewed social interaction.” ²
The Good News Network, 7 in 10 Americans Agree that 2020 Made Them Better People – Here’s How, GNN staff writer, May 9, 2021, 7 in 10 Americans Agree That 2020 Made Them a Better Person – Here’s How (goodnewsnetwork.org) Last accessed October 11, 2021, direct excerpts:” In general, seventy-two percent said they found themselves caring about the health and well-being of others significantly more in the past year.”