What you can learn from Arianna Huffington

Maria Heisig
Jul 10, 2017 · 3 min read
Photo: Garrhet Sampson

In her book “Thrive” Arianna not only asks the question “What is a good life?”, but she also does a pretty good job of answering it.

If you are not much of a reader or you simply don’t have time to read, but still want to reap the benefits of Arianna’s wisdom, this blog post is a useful summary. I hope you find it helpful.

How NOT to thrive in life

After finishing the book, I think Arianna just spent 342 pages saying “Get off your god damn phone”. Don’t get me wrong. I think it was done well and (almost) every page was necessary to convey that message.

She does a phenomenal job at addressing how fast-paced our world has become, and how that puts stress on our well-being, health, relationships, and perception of our surroundings. In the four sections of the book (well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving) Arianna keeps coming back to the same point again and again.

We are too connected.

We are too plugged into the virtual world, both during work and free time, and it’s hurting ut.

We lose sleep because of the blue light from our screens. At work, we are under more stress than ever because we are always just a swipe away from answering an email or taking a call, and that is expected of us. When we spend time with friends, family or our partners, we are losing out on important moments of connection because our eyes are paying attention to a screen rather than our loved one’s eyes.

Essentially, we are told that we are more connected than ever, yet real-life connections are becoming increasingly difficult for many, and this has an effect on our quality of life.

How to actually thrive in life

This is not news. We know all of those things, and yet little is done to make a change. I think this is why people like Arianna are able to write those books and sell them — humans simply need to be told something many times before it registers for good.

So. Let’s come back to the main question of this blog post: how do you actually live a good life?

You disconnect.

Simply put down your phone, shut down your computer, hug your partner, visit your family, go for a walk outside, read an actual book, go for a swim, volunteer in your local animal shelter.

The answer to getting your life back is simple, but also hard, because after so much time on our phones and computers our brains are like addicts — they just want more of what is good. The purpose of books like Arianna’s “Thrive” is to give us some tools we can use on the long and hard recovery from connectivity addiction.

So, pick one offline activity or pick many. The choice is yours. Just don’t Instagram it while you’re doing it.

Maria Heisig

Written by

Freelance writer. Portfolio: nicewords.ink

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade