Death

Death is the end of life, it is clinical death.

When you have died there is nothing you can do. While there is life, there is hope, but there is no longer any life.

Your family will most likely mourn you, your friends certainly will and you can no longer contribute that special something to the world that you were born for.

Challenges

All of the challenges are for those who you have left behind

Existing

Existing is moving through life without feeling, without thought or personal power. In effect, it is the living death.

It is close to death in that you can not or will not act and life just passes you by. Some people may wish to put this in a separate spectrum, but I feel it is the state of being just passed death. It can be placed alongside Surviving.

People who are Existing do not feel a future that is different is possible and often have no motivation to change. People in this stage may feel that they are not worth goodness or positivity.

While there is life, there is hope and you can still manage to live rather than merely exist, waiting for death.

Challenges

Self esteem is the main challenge, followed by motivation.

Surviving

Surviving is that state of managing minute by minute, or hour by hour, or day by day the meager resources you have so that you have control over your destiny.

This is the point where you can act to prolong the event horizon (the point where you can no longer influence) of your destiny.

Challenges

People who find themselves in this state are generally worried about personal safety, housing, food, paying the next bill and just making it through the day. The focus must be on the basic needs of survival – food/water, shelter and positive social company. Aim to secure these resources first.

Coping

Coping is easy to mistake as Surviving, however it generally means you are managing to succeed at Surviving and are further away from slipping down to Existing or Death.

Often people who are coping have a plan for a week or two and the resources to influence that. The focus is less on the immediate now and more on goals for the future.

A person who is Coping can actually make plans for more than today because on the one hand, they can see a future is possible, and on the other hand, they have command of enough resources that they can start to make future plans. This shift in controlling resources is the primary distinction between surviving and coping.

Challenges

Those who are coping still very vulnerable and are likely to slip back to Surviving at any unexpected event. To avoid this resources must be husbanded closely to allow for some unexpected events.

Managing

Managing is the step past Coping. It may appear similar, however the distinction is that enough resources have been saved such that an emergency does not tip you back into Surviving.

Longer range plans can be made. Discussions around Thriving and Recovery can occur at this point since the aim is no longer on accumulating basic resources such as food/water, shelter and supportive people.

Challenges

Now that basic survival is no longer as big an issue, it is tempting to stay here and believe that life is as good as it gets. Now is the time to start to dream about what you actually want in life and begin to work out how the resources that you have available to you now can be used to make that dream more real. Now is not the time to become complacent.

Recovering

Recovering is the making progress in plans made towards Thriving.

Often people feel capable and accomplished during this part of the journey. It is easy to feel that this is the whole point to life and just to stay in this aspect of the Thriving Framework. It is particularly appealing to those who have spent some time Existing, Surviving or Coping.

Some people may become disillusioned with Recovery if they spend their whole lives Recovering and never quite accomplishing Thriving.

Challenges

Generally people who are Achieving have very few supports as they are managing this stage on their own. This is the best time to take a look at your goals and consider if the goals you worked out while you were Managing are still the goals you want now. Perhaps you have changed, perhaps your goals have.

Thriving

Thriving is the end goal of the Thriving Framework. It means having achieved the majority of the Context Goals and feeling like you are Thriving.

If you have achieved the Context Goals and do not have a feeling of Thriving, then it is important to go back and look at what you want to feel and what you may need to change to achieve this.

If the stage of Thriving can never be achieved, why aim for it? It must be achievable.

This does not mean that the early Thriving Goal should be practical or achievable. When first working with your own or someone else’s goals, allow for unrealistic goals. This helps you to determine the governing emotions behind the unrealistic goals. From their you can work out how else to achieve these goals that is practical. The person on the journey through the Thriving Framework must choose and own these goals and this journey, otherwise you achieve nothing.