After decades of corporate speaking and working one-on-one with people, we’ve observed one common, powerful driving force prevails in everyone, no matter what walk of life they come from—the desire to live more satisfying, productive and happier lives. Sound familiar? At its essence, Thriving Relationships is about awakening to this happiness and the kindness compassion and connection available to (and within) each and every one of us. …YES, this exists within and is available to YOU too!
Our mission is simple:
to offer easy-to-absorb ideas, actionable strategies and effective (and dare we add…fun!) techniques that give you the power to genuinely connect with yourself, others and the planet we live on.
We’ve taken the hard work out of figuring out what to do
…and put the fun into it.
You can say goodbye to pouring through book after book and endlessly scouring the Internet to try and stay on top of what works and doesn’t work. That’s just downright exhausting! Instead, we’ve taken an evolutionary and entertaining approach to distilling big ideas (from the latest scientific studies to cutting edge, expert knowledge), synthesizing and delivering them in a way that’s easy to understand and apply in your own life.
We’ve cut through the thick of what really gets you down—dealing with stressors, health problems, anxiety, depression, loneliness, confusion, relationship issues, and feeling disconnected, to name a few—and zeroed in on what it takes to sur-thrive.
Yes, that’s right, we just said, “sur-thrive”. Because really, why would you want to just get by and survive in life, when you can sur-thrive! Whether your challenges stem from your relationships, career, health or emotional wellness, Thriving Relationships’ evolutionary approach helps you overcome what’s holding you back by introducing you to four key areas that are at the root of living a satisfying, productive and happy life:
The 4 Key Areas to Thriving Relationships:
The New Science and Practice of Connected Relationships
Here’s the good news—as humans, we are wired to connect.
YOU are wired to connect. Whether you feel incapable of connecting with other people, or whether you fight it (or not), the biological truth is that you are built with the innate capacity to connect. This includes connecting with your inner self, as well as getting outside of yourself and connecting with everyone and everything around you.
Feelings of connection can well up inside of you when people “get” you and are there for you, when you share information and experiences with others, or you have an opportunity to “be there” for someone else in need. In fact, new research shows that one of the roots of happiness is being able to give back to others, whether that’s in your personal or professional life.
In everything you do, you are in relationship with someone or something, and there is a flow of give and take. Science is revealing that close relationships (with other humans and even pets) are crucial to your health and happiness, they can give you a sense of identity and the positive effects of connecting with others are lasting (and often contagious!)This is what real connection is all about.
At their essence, connected relationships can be distilled down to three important things:
- Commitment: Are you there for me?
- Acceptance: Do you “get” me?
- Trust: Can I trust you?
Now remember, these considerations go both ways …are YOU showing up in this capacity with others?
In this day and age, connection is both enabled and stifled by the society we live in and the technology available to us. The key is to learn how to function and connect effectively. We invite you to use the new science and practices available through Thriving Relationships to your advantage; create the life you desire…and sur-thrive!
Visit the C-Blog to read more about creating and cultivating Connected Relationships.
This is Your Brain on Life
Have you ever met someone and felt a rush of excitement, experienced the thrill of landing a new job, or felt a flush of anticipation before taking off on a new adventure or trip? What you are experiencing are the effects of dopamine (a chemical messenger) being released in your brain. Alternatively, a lack of stimulus and chemical release can have quite the opposite affect—leading to anxiety, feelings of disconnection and depression. In either case, this is but a glimpse of …your brain on life.
Not too long ago, scientists believed that, after a certain age, your brain was “set” and incapable of changing. As recent research has unearthed, this couldn’t be further from the truth!
Thriving Relationships is excited to delve into this cutting edge knowledge and research with you, sharing the differences between the old and new brain. Think of your brain as a virtual ‘flight traffic control’—over millions of years it’s evolved as an organ to coordinate your body’s actions in the world. Every function of your body—from breathing to heart rate, every movement you make, and every emotion you feel, to every thought you have—is regulated by your brain. Learning about these different emotional and physical systems in your brain, how they operate and their effects, will literally open up an entire new world to you!
Understanding the evolutionary and social reasons your brain functions the way it does, will shed a whole new light on how you, as well as those around you, interact and respond the way you do. This newfound knowledge will help you to “trip the wire” within your brain, allowing you to access and respond to kindness and compassion.
As you’re about to experience, learning how to harness and balance the unseen powers of your brain will bring more ease, harmony and joy into every aspect of your life.
Visit the C-Blog to learn more about tapping into the hidden powers lying deep within your brain.
The Pathway to Mindfulness & Compassion
Let’s face it; we are all experiencing “Life”—the good and the bad of it. The beauty of this is, just that, we are all going through a shared experience. The only question is how are YOU choosing to live your experience? Complacent and unmotivated…or as a sur-thrivalist?
A sur-thrivalist knows where life’s at: living each day aware and mindful, existing in the present moment, with compassion and without judgment of self or others. As a sur-thrivalist, you are aware that you are a part of something much bigger than yourself.
Setting out on this pathway of mindfulness and compassion is not about embarking upon a “feel good mission”. This pathway is paved with science! Researchers have found that being mindful and developing kindness and compassion for yourself and others can bolster your confidence, enabling you to create deeply caring and meaningful relationships. It has also proven to lower anxiety and negativity, positively impacting your physical and mental health. Who doesn’t want all of that?
Thriving Relationships is excited to trail blaze the path! Our physical and mental strategies, exercises and tools—in the form of meditations and rich guided imagery, to name a few—will provide you with what you need to sur-thrive on a daily basis.
The Pathway to Mindfulness and Compassion has three core components:
- Understanding Mindfulness
- Practicing Self Compassion
- Tapping into the Human Experience
Setting out on this path isn’t easy, but we do promise that the journey will be rewarding (and fun)! The more we work together, the more we can transform ourselves and create more authentic, productive, thriving and connected relationships.
Visit the C-Blog and take the first steps to embarking upon a more mindful and compassionate life-path.
Your Emotional Self
Happy, excited, curious, anxious, angry, fearful, sad, introspective, hopeful…content—Where do YOU fit it in? Venturing a guess, it’s likely that you can identify with this entire range of feelings and emotions (and then some) at any given time. The question is: are you aware and in touch with your deeper emotional self?
Your emotions can be clues as to what’s truly important to you and are even the drivers to the actions you take. It’s not unusual to feel an excited or happy flush come over you, or to feel an anxious pang hit you in your gut. However, in order to experience real connection with yourself and others, it’s imperative to be in touch with where those sensations stem from and what they really mean.
Here at Thriving Relationships we’re aware it’s sometimes difficult to clearly identify your emotions, let alone understand where they stem from and how they can impact you. That’s why we’ve devised a simple approach, using effective tools and exercises—like awareness meditations, specialized breathing techniques and body scans—to help you become aware and knowledgeable of where those sensations arise from and what they mean.
Emotions are neither good, nor bad. They are neutral, up until the point that you interpret and utilize them. In fact, we encourage you to use your body like an antenna to capture messages and register, differentiate and understand every emotion.
Life can be difficult, or out-of-this-world joyful—it’s your choice how you respond and act upon what life brings your way. Thriving Relationships will help you understand, master and express your emotional self so that you can authentically connect with yourself and others, better fulfill your unmet needs and enjoy a purposeful and meaningful life.
Visit the C-Blog to learn how to cultivate positive emotions and integrate them into your relationships and life. Don’t just think positive—it’s time to think differently.