Break Free from Striving to Thriving

Do you know the difference between thriving and striving? Even though they sound similar, they couldn’t be further in meaning from each other.

I strive.

I admit it.

Striving is my natural inclination. If something is not happening the way or in timing I think it should, then it’s up the superhero, “Fix it, Kris.” I’m not really a superhero, but I play one in my mind. I take on what I don’t need to for my dream to come to pass.

Yes, you guessed it, this normally comes to a miserable outcome.

When I say miserable, it isn’t world shattering apocalyptic level miserable, but it normally makes me grumpy and irritable because I’m doing my “To Do List” under my own power rather than trusting God’s guidance. This creates a wife, mom and friend who’s not much fun to be around. It’s a pretty picture I’m painting here, right?

The flip side is thriving. There is a sweet sound to this word. Reviewing my to do list at a God given pace. Doing things in His timing rather than mine. Going with His flow, if you will, How does this make my day look instead of rushing from one thing to another?

Please indulge me as I provide an example of when I’m striving in a typical day which goes something like this. I open my eyes to a sun-filled room. Realizing I slept through my alarm, thankfully only by 15 minutes. Instead of having time to workout and have a quiet time before work, I dash to my spot on the couch and ask God to calm my racing heart and fill up my empty places depleted from the grind of yesterday in an abbreviated fashion.

“Quickly, please, God,” I pray. “Make me whole so I can survive another day.”

Not exactly the embodiment of Psalms 46:10 which states, “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The rest of the day is more of the same. Meetings and projects feel rushed and half done, with half the effort because I’m racing off to the next office fire drill. I come home to see my family nicely dressed up as realization dawns that I’ve forgotten one of my kids has a performance at school.

It’s in that moment, I admit I haven’t communicated with God once today asking for peace, direction or discernment. My stressed out demeanor shows it. The only positive for the day was I obtained my 10,000 steps on my Fitbit from running around. Not exactly type of exercise I was looking for.

Compare this with the day of thriving. I wake up in my alarm goes off because I went to bed at a reasonable hour instead of deciding it was a good idea to watch one more episode on Netflix. My day starts off on the couch with my Bible study app open to get my direction for the day and then I spend 30 minutes journaling my thoughts to God and listening for His response to record in my prayer journal.

I then go for a run outside or do a workout video at home depending on my mood and the weather which lifts my spirit even higher. I head off to work, refreshed and relaxed asking God to show me the most important task of the day and to equip me to handle the inevitable crises that will arise.

I ask for patience in working with clients and to show me how to love on them rather than view them as an interruption to my day. I come home with plans for dinner and my awesome husband called to remind me of the schedule for the evening, even though I actually had it on the calendar already. God knew I needed a double reminder.

The second scenario is how I wish my days always go but many times, I get Door Number 1 because I’m not listening to God’s leading me to bed at a reasonable hour or showing me what project to do next.

The point is, God doesn’t want us striving after our dreams. He wants to see us thriving in a close relationship with Him where our dreams natural unfold His timing.

Do you spend more time striving or thriving? How? Share in the comments below to encourage others.