Lessons on Thriving in 2025: A Quiet Experience

Beginning in 2017 to continue my journey of growth, I jumped on the word of the year bandwagon, which for me is a regular or daily practice that I think about each morning.  I start my day with 3 daily gratitude prayers, spiritual study, and try to bring in a morning walk. Through a coaching experience in 2016, I was encouraged to develop a visual or vision board of where I wanted my life to grow each year. This has evolved over the last several years. It really isn't a check off list, but more of a practice or idea that I tried to learn more about and apply to my life. There is so much power in the words we think about and use. Truly a word has so much power. When we name a word with intention, God seems to meet us there. I am learning to be very intentional in my word choice. This year the word was THRIVE, and the lessons I have learned have truly brought peace into my life in a way that is very hard to describe fully in this blog post. 

Writing helps me truly apply reflections to my life. Sometimes I share with friends and family and others when I feel it may help others grow. It is my intention and hope that someone will be able to learn from my opportunities for growth this year. I didn’t practice “thrive” by striving for more, which is something I have done for the last 30 years. You see, I am a high achiever, a hyper-achiever some would say. I tend to set a goal and meet it or persist long enough that I rise to the occasion. The problem with this, is I forgot to enjoy the journey. I was burned out. This year, life hit me with a curve ball, again. Soon after I chose this word, I began to have major health problems. I found myself, not really thriving. Instead, the universe forced me to fully STOP and REST. I had to let go and it was here where I truly began to learn the meaning of thrive. I practiced it by learning to rest, to trust in the dark, and to let healing unfold in its own time. The word didn’t change my circumstances as much as it changed me. 

What were the key takeaways this year on learning how to thrive? Here are the top takeaways that I hope to continue to practice through a daily intention. 

1. Thriving begins with rest and solitude:  Real growth doesn’t happen in constant motion or in the spotlight—it begins in stillness, in the dark, through intentional rest: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. In the spring, I was confronted with declining health—certainly not how I imagined a year of thriving would begin. At one point, I was told I might have a spinal injury and could end up in a wheelchair. The news was shocking. I was still walking, still working, still trying to “fully go,” and my brain simply couldn’t reconcile what I was being told with how I was living. I had career obligations to meet, responsibilities I felt I couldn’t step away from. And then everything stopped. God forced my life to stop. How could this lead to learning about thriving?  I had to cancel all of my summer plans (even my 50th birthday trip) and commit to what became a six-month season of healing. A full hip replacement forced the pause I never would have chosen for myself. Thankfully, further testing revealed no spinal injury; healing required a walker, then a cane. Still, learning that I had developed an autoimmune condition and early-onset osteoarthritis—and being told plainly that my hip was broken—left me in shock. About a week later, as I waited for additional testing, something unexpected happened. I fell into a deep, restorative sleep. For the first time in probably a decade, my body fully relaxed. I could feel the tension—years of it—literally leaving my bones. I don’t know how to fully describe the impact of that moment. It was then that I realized how much trauma, unprocessed emotion, and grief I had been carrying without rest. Around that time, my sister-in-law had given me books on the seven forms of rest. I dusted them off and began a new journey—one I didn’t know I needed. During this season, I learned that thriving requires rest and that it is a process, not an outcome. I learned to enjoy solitude. I learned to be with myself in healing. I embraced stretching, mindfulness practices, and began learning about fascia release. Most importantly, I learned how deeply my body needed permission to stop. Thriving, I discovered, begins with rest.
2.  Am I enjoying the journey? This question matters because I am a hyper-achiever. I tend to meet the goals I set for myself, but often at the cost of presence—focused solely on the outcome rather than the experience along the way. That pattern brought frustration, even when I was “successful.” Slowing down and intentionally asking, Am I enjoying this? has helped me stay fully present. Turning fifty brings a sobering clarity: half of life has already been lived. It becomes clear that this is not a rehearsal. It’s time to start enjoying the moments we are in—now, not someday. Life will always include setbacks and disappointments, but thriving doesn’t mean avoiding them; it means not getting stuck there. It means refocusing, finding opportunity in the moment, and honoring yourself for how far you’ve already come. This practice has not been easy for me. I didn’t learn early on how to offer myself compassion. But I’m learning that self-compassion is essential to presence. When we soften toward ourselves, we make space to truly be here—and that, I’ve learned, is where thriving begins.
3. Thriving is trusting the process and imperfect people. Trust is something I still struggle with. And yet, this year has taught me the importance of extending grace—to myself and to others who are only human. People will disappoint us. That is part of being in relationship. But I’ve also learned that God often uses imperfect people to shape, teach, and even change our lives. Trusting the process requires letting go of control and believing that—even through disappointment—there is purpose, redirection, and growth. I have found that what initially feels like a setback often becomes an opportunity pointing me toward something better or more aligned. Trusting others does not mean abandoning discernment or self-advocacy. Thriving includes the ability to speak honestly, set boundaries, and stand up for ourselves when needed—without losing compassion or integrity. It means leading with generosity of spirit, assuming good intentions, while remaining attentive and wise. Thriving, for me, has meant loosening my grip on outcomes, refining my ability to truly listen, advocating for my needs calmly and trusting that things often work out—even when not in the way I first imagined.
4. Thriving involves shedding what no longer fits. Growth sometimes means releasing old identities, roles, or relationships with love—understanding that outgrowing something does not diminish gratitude, care, or appreciation for what once was. Seasons change, and with growth often comes the need to make space. Sometimes, where you are going requires new relationships, perspectives, or ways of being. Creating that space may require letting go—not in conflict, but with intention and grace. As we develop and mature, this becomes less about loss and more about alignment. Letting go doesn’t have to be ugly. It can be honest, gentle, and rooted in respect—for others and for ourselves.
5. Thriving is a daily practice. I am working on a positive thinking development course to build and rewire thinking to continue to make this a daily practice in the coming month. If you are interested in this program, I have an excellent mindfulness coach that is really helping me to develop positive leadership and thinking practices. 

My vision board below shows that many of these areas of development that I set last winter break are not met (in white), many are in progress (orange), and many were met. I am proud that this is the first year that my largest gains were in the area of my physical health. Reviewing boards from the last 9 years, this is the first time that this has ever occurred. Most of my growth early on was in the career area, followed by spiritual in the last few years. This year, I experienced the greatest gains in my physical wellness. I hope to continue this trend in the coming year.