Summary: Researchers conclude that thriving is driven by a personal sense of growth and the experience of mastering meaningful skills or goals.
Source: University of Portsmouth.
What it takes to thrive — not just survive — often comes down to feeling positive about life and yourself, and developing competence in something meaningful.
Whether a teenager preparing for exams, a professional advancing at work, or an older adult engaging with their community, thriving can be observed across ages and cultures.
Despite a wide range of theories, the scientific community has lacked a consistent, widely accepted definition of what it means to thrive and which factors are most important.
Dr Daniel Brown, a sport and exercise scientist at the University of Portsmouth, reviewed the literature on thriving across diverse populations — from infants and adolescents to artists, athletes, employees and older adults — and proposed a unified, practical definition.
He explains: “Thriving is a word most people would be glad to hear themselves described as, but which science hasn’t really managed to consistently classify and describe until now. It appears to come down to an individual experiencing a sense of development, of getting better at something, and succeeding at mastering something. In the simplest terms, what underpins it is feeling good about life and yourself and being good at something.”
The research identifies two complementary sets of factors — personal qualities and contextual supports — that together help explain why some people thrive while others merely cope. A person does not need every item, but a mix of elements from both lists tends to promote thriving.
A: Personal qualities (Is):
- Optimistic outlook
- Spiritual or religious engagement (if meaningful to the individual)
- Motivation and internal drive
- Proactivity in shaping one’s life
- Enjoyment of learning and personal growth
- Flexibility and openness to change
- Adaptability in the face of new demands
- Social competence and interpersonal skills
- Healthy self-belief and self-esteem
B: Contextual supports (Has):
- Opportunities to grow and take on new challenges
- Support from employers, family, mentors or community
- Challenges and difficulties that remain at manageable levels
- A relatively calm and stable environment
- A high degree of autonomy in tasks and decisions
- Trust from others in one’s competence
The review clarifies how thriving is distinct from but related to concepts such as resilience, flourishing, or mere survival. Across studies, thriving has been described using terms like vitality, focused learning, mental toughness, and sustained engagement, depending on context. Researchers have explored thriving in domains including child development, health, military performance, and workplace excellence.
Dr Brown notes that a major reason for inconsistent conclusions in earlier studies is narrow focus: some work has centered on infants, other studies on employees, and still others on athletes or older adults. By offering a clear, cross-domain definition of thriving, his review aims to guide more coherent future research.
As part of his PhD research at the University of Bath, Dr Brown also proposed a research agenda. He makes six recommendations for future study, including careful examination of the mechanisms that enable thriving and investigation into whether thriving produces lasting, cumulative benefits over time.
Dr Brown conducted this research with academic supervision and collaboration. His primary supervisor, Dr Rachel Arnold, an expert in the psychology of performance excellence, is a co-author on the paper, along with David Fletcher and Martyn Standage.
Source: University of Portsmouth
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Original Research: The review article “Human Thriving” by Daniel J. Brown, Rachel Arnold, David Fletcher, and Martyn Standage was published in European Psychologist (published online September 7, 2017). DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000294.
Abstract (summary)
The concept of human thriving captures a fundamental drive toward self-improvement and growth. Scholarly interest has produced a fragmented literature, with different fields using varying terms and models. This review seeks to unify those perspectives by: (1) surveying theoretical and conceptual debates to propose a cross-domain definition of thriving; (2) consolidating empirical findings to highlight key personal and contextual enablers that can inform practice; and (3) identifying gaps in the evidence and recommending directions for future research to support the development of effective psychosocial interventions aimed at promoting thriving.
Human Thriving by Daniel J. Brown, Rachel Arnold, David Fletcher, and Martyn Standage. European Psychologist. Published online September 7, 2017. DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000294.
This synthesis highlights that thriving is both an internal experience of growth and competence and a product of supportive external conditions. Interventions and policies that combine personal development opportunities with supportive environments — for example by increasing autonomy, building trust, and ensuring challenges are manageable — are likely to be effective routes to enhance thriving across the lifespan.