A few weeks ago I decided to take my laptop outside and work on the deck.  After a while I took a break and began looking around the yard.  It was about 80 degrees and breezy, so I was absolutely at peace with the world (I LOVE SUMMER!!!).  As I was glancing around the yard, I began to notice all the living things around me. After watching them for about 15-20 minutes, it occurred to me that everything on the Earth adapts effectively  to survive and thrive in the environment it lives in. 

Following that thought I had a profound insight – humans may have the most complex brains on the plant, but nature as a whole has a better grip than humankind on how to successfully achieve a thriving quality of life.  Here’s what I mean by that:  Each species instinctively knows what type of quality of life it is supposed to have on this Earth and actively works to achieve it .  The only species that seems to have trouble doing so is humans. 

For example — ants are born with a relatively simple, yet thriving, quality of life.  Their life is all about working as a team with all the other ants in the colony to gather food, protect the queen, and be on the lookout for danger.  Each ant understands its role in the colony and spends its whole life proactively working hard to achieve the quality of life level it is entitled to have.

On the other hand humans, unlike ants and the rest of nature’s species, are born with the capacity to have a more fulfilling and multi-faceted thriving quality of life.  But for some reason much of humanity does not proactively do everything it can to achieve the level of thriving we are entitled to have. 

Now let me explain what I mean by that:

When we are children the instinct to thrive is always apparent.  Joy, laughter, and fun surround children regularly.  In fact the instinct to thrive is so deep, children often can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning.  To them, every day the world is an exciting place and full of possibilities.  Children also have an amazing ability to settle into the most difficult of environments and thrive, no matter what is going on around them.

Sadly, however, as we get older our innate capacity to thrive is no longer certain because we begin to allow our environment to dictate what we believe and how we act which powerfully affects our future.  The thriving life we were entitled to every step of our life seems to get lost along our road to adulthood.  And despite the complexity of our brains, most adults no longer believe they are able to have a thriving life and are often jealous when others around them manage to achieve it. 

That’s why I made the comment, “humans may have the most complex brains on the plant, but nature as a whole has a better grip than humankind on how to successfully achieve a thriving quality of life.”

There are so many lessons we can learn from nature about how to achieve the thriving quality of life we are entitled to…which would eventually allow more people to have the life they really want instead of settling for the life they currently have.

Over the course of the next few weeks I will be presenting a variety of lessons we can learn from nature which will allow us to achieve a thriving quality of life more consistently. 

Until next time, have a fabulous day and don’t forget to keep your eyes out for all the amazing possibilities within and around you!

Sincerely,
Kris Cavanaugh
C.E.O. Catalyst & Life Coach
Shift Inc.

Note:  The above blog post is connected to my C.E.O. Shift Ezine.  If you are not currently a subscriber, and would like to receive it, please go to www.begintoshift.com to sign up.  Along with that free subscription, you’ll also receive my 63 page E-Book, “Living Your Life On Purpose – Three Powerful Steps to Achieve a Thriving Quality of Life” at no charge and gain an opportunity to have an “Exploration Meeting” with me.