Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder

Arianna Huffington begins by recounting an accident in 2007: Exhausted from constant work and lack of sleep, she collapsed in her office, cutting her eye and breaking her cheekbone against the corner of her desk. This incident served as a “classic wake-up call”: Her life needed to change (2). In her introduction, Huffington provides an overview of the “Third Metric,” which she posits should be included in a modern definition of success in addition to conventional metrics of money and power. Huffington frames “Third Metric” living as having four aspects: well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving. Citing both scientific anecdotal evidence to emphasize the high personal cost of ignoring one’s health, particularly for women, she elaborates on the four pillars that support this “Third Metric” of success: caring for one’s mental and physical health (well-being), cultivating a sense of delight (wonder), reconnecting with oneself to find one’s center (wisdom), and showing compassion through service (giving). Huffington explains her intent to be both informative and practical throughout her book, which she asserts will teach readers how to “thrive,” which she defines as, “to reconnect with ourselves, our loved ones, and our community” (20).