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199 reviews for:
Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder
Arianna Huffington
3.58 AVERAGE
199 reviews for:
Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder
Arianna Huffington
3.58 AVERAGE
I couldn't have stumbled across this book at a better time! It was exactly what I needed to remind me what I need to focus on and what's important.
Audio book.
A good primer on obvious stuff about living a not-shallow life. How to be spiritual-ish but not religious. Some of it was so obvious and trite that I wanted to rate a 1 star. But I have to be fair: this book might have been meaningful to me 10 years ago. So 2 stars.
A good primer on obvious stuff about living a not-shallow life. How to be spiritual-ish but not religious. Some of it was so obvious and trite that I wanted to rate a 1 star. But I have to be fair: this book might have been meaningful to me 10 years ago. So 2 stars.
I agree with everything the author writes about but this book reads like a research paper written by a college sophomore -- very dutiful and lots of (too many) resources but no spark or soul.
Repetition was Arianna's biggest downfall with Thrive. There are only so many ways I can be told to unplug every once and a while (because our smartphones might actually be making us dumber!). The low-hanging fruit of self improvement tips were much more present than bigger, more profound ideas on success and well-being. Remember to breathe; meditation is good for you; don't overwork yourself... this is not necessarily groundbreaking advice.
However, I would recommend this book as a baseline reference to happiness on your bookshelf and revisit it when you need simple reminders to the important things in our lives. I wanted to enjoy this book since I am such a fan of Arianna but it left me wanting more.
However, I would recommend this book as a baseline reference to happiness on your bookshelf and revisit it when you need simple reminders to the important things in our lives. I wanted to enjoy this book since I am such a fan of Arianna but it left me wanting more.
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Fundamentally, Huffington's idea that we need a third metric to define success in our modern world is solid. Money and power are the metrics we normally use to determine success, but in the end they don't seem to bring people happiness or satisfaction. A lot of her advice in this book revolves around general mindfulness and spiritual concepts that are hashed out endlessly nowadays, but I think she generally hashes it out well enough. The framing that we need to integrate these concepts as a method for "success" in life is interesting enough to differentiate the book a bit from the usual stuff.
There are a lot of minor things off in this book, though. A lot of the examples and metaphors are only vaguely related and tangentially helpful, which means a lot of the book seems to meander weirdly. The appendices at the end are... extensive. I was listening to the audiobook and just shut it off over an hour before it finished because the epilogue was over and I didn't want to listen to a literal hour listing off helpful apps.
Huffington refers a lot to the Huffington Post and other companies that implement measures to help employees develop this "third metric of success," but doesn't refer much to how it actually changes work culture at these places. Many of the companies she references have iffy ethical practices and I don't tend to hear good things about working for them, so I'm not sure she's nailing her point on that one.
Thrive was a decent book on the whole, just one that could have used another draft or two. It made good points poorly with a good but ill-defined framing concept to hold it all together.
There are a lot of minor things off in this book, though. A lot of the examples and metaphors are only vaguely related and tangentially helpful, which means a lot of the book seems to meander weirdly. The appendices at the end are... extensive. I was listening to the audiobook and just shut it off over an hour before it finished because the epilogue was over and I didn't want to listen to a literal hour listing off helpful apps.
Huffington refers a lot to the Huffington Post and other companies that implement measures to help employees develop this "third metric of success," but doesn't refer much to how it actually changes work culture at these places. Many of the companies she references have iffy ethical practices and I don't tend to hear good things about working for them, so I'm not sure she's nailing her point on that one.
Thrive was a decent book on the whole, just one that could have used another draft or two. It made good points poorly with a good but ill-defined framing concept to hold it all together.
Those of you who know me in real life, or even from my book reviews, know that I am not easily impressed. Well, I'm impressed. I'm impressed by this book and the studious, thoughtful, lovely soul that wrote this book.
It starts off with softballs. She states the problem. Okay, we all know what a disaster the business culture has become. Then she makes a big case for meditation and sleep and exercise. This might feel obvious to people who have been trying to figure things out for a long time, but surely this advice the younger crowd needs, as many of us waste several tired unhappy years without mindfulness. It would have helped young me. But also around this time, you might become skeptical that you're reading another cheesy self-help book, albeit a very well-cited and scientific-sounding one.
It's not another cheesy self-help book. It's more like an owner's manual to being a complete person. An action plan for humanity. A philosophical work that perfectly captures this particular moment in time. A push towards spiritual enlightenment.
I would also say that if there's a part you feel like discarding or ignoring, check your feelings to see why. I had the experience in part of it as well, but I sat with my resistance and I think I'm wrong. If you're trying to disregard something she says, you're probably letting yourself off the hook for something you don't want to do. But Huffington's advice not wrong. This is because she's obviously read widely, thought deeply, and mindfully experienced a great deal.
Really 5+ stars.
It starts off with softballs. She states the problem. Okay, we all know what a disaster the business culture has become. Then she makes a big case for meditation and sleep and exercise. This might feel obvious to people who have been trying to figure things out for a long time, but surely this advice the younger crowd needs, as many of us waste several tired unhappy years without mindfulness. It would have helped young me. But also around this time, you might become skeptical that you're reading another cheesy self-help book, albeit a very well-cited and scientific-sounding one.
It's not another cheesy self-help book. It's more like an owner's manual to being a complete person. An action plan for humanity. A philosophical work that perfectly captures this particular moment in time. A push towards spiritual enlightenment.
I would also say that if there's a part you feel like discarding or ignoring, check your feelings to see why. I had the experience in part of it as well, but I sat with my resistance and I think I'm wrong. If you're trying to disregard something she says, you're probably letting yourself off the hook for something you don't want to do. But Huffington's advice not wrong. This is because she's obviously read widely, thought deeply, and mindfully experienced a great deal.
Really 5+ stars.
Inspired by an incident in which Arianna was so exhausted that she fell and hit her head on a desk, Thrive describes the ways in which we can add balance to our busy lives so that we are tending to our mental and emotional health, while also striving for success. The metrics to which Arianna refers are money, power and thriving. To thrive, we need a sense of wonder, to manage our well-being, to tap into our innate wisdom and to give of ourselves. We've got the first two metrics down pat but are we thriving as well, or just stuck on a hamster wheel?
Thrive relates story after story and study after study in support of Arianna's belief that the third metric matters and deserves just as much attention as the first two metrics. The abundance of information feels shallow at times, and gets tedious after awhile but her points her valid. At the very least, you'll find validation for some common sense advice like getting more sleep, shutting out external, digital simulation and doing volunteer work to make your life richer and more well-rounded.
From Left to Write book members took on challenges inspired by the book. You can read them here! http://www.fromlefttowrite.com/book-club-challenge-thrive-by-arianna-huffington/
Thrive relates story after story and study after study in support of Arianna's belief that the third metric matters and deserves just as much attention as the first two metrics. The abundance of information feels shallow at times, and gets tedious after awhile but her points her valid. At the very least, you'll find validation for some common sense advice like getting more sleep, shutting out external, digital simulation and doing volunteer work to make your life richer and more well-rounded.
From Left to Write book members took on challenges inspired by the book. You can read them here! http://www.fromlefttowrite.com/book-club-challenge-thrive-by-arianna-huffington/
I couldn't finish this book. The advice was redundant and nothing I haven't seen a hundred times before. While it was well researched, it wasn't engaging and felt like an undergraduate essay on self-help.
After a work accident that illustrated just how stressed and exhausted she constantly felt Arianna Huffington, took a step back to reevaluate what really mattered in life. And she realized that money and power alone weren't the answer. She came to recognize another third metric that was the key to a successful and fulfilling life.
Her third metric is divided into four categories: well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving. Each category and chapter is packed full of knowledge, tips, stories, and inspirational quotes or parables. Each chapter is engaging and offers practical suggestions. Surprising me, my favorite metric was wonder. She talked about the danger of distraction and how to experience wonder we must put our phones down, stop over-documenting and just allow ourselves to be inspired by what is around us. She spent time talking about death and aging and brought me to tears when she described her mothers death. A death, in my view, that was beautiful and just the way I would like to pass.
The chapters are wonderful and I enjoyed the quotes intermingled throughout, though they may be distracting for some. Huffington is a great storyteller and I think women and business people of all kinds can take something from this book.
Her third metric is divided into four categories: well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving. Each category and chapter is packed full of knowledge, tips, stories, and inspirational quotes or parables. Each chapter is engaging and offers practical suggestions. Surprising me, my favorite metric was wonder. She talked about the danger of distraction and how to experience wonder we must put our phones down, stop over-documenting and just allow ourselves to be inspired by what is around us. She spent time talking about death and aging and brought me to tears when she described her mothers death. A death, in my view, that was beautiful and just the way I would like to pass.
The chapters are wonderful and I enjoyed the quotes intermingled throughout, though they may be distracting for some. Huffington is a great storyteller and I think women and business people of all kinds can take something from this book.