Rethinking the “Bare Minimum”: Why Thriving Should Be Our New Standard

In our society, the “bare minimum” has long been understood as doing just enough to scrape by—meeting the absolute least requirements necessary without any frills. It’s a phrase often synonymous with minimal effort or commitment. But why should we settle for merely surviving when we can thrive? Isn’t it time we redefine what counts as the bare minimum for a fulfilling life?

This shift in perspective came to me not through leisurely contemplation but through a harrowing experience. I nearly lost my life to acute kidney failure caused by a medication reaction. I woke from a coma completely incapacitated; I couldn’t move or speak, but my mind was vigilant. According to my old definition, being alive was enough. I was meeting the bare minimum. But as I lay there, trapped in my thoughts, I realized that simply being alive wasn’t really living at all.

Consider what the bare minimum entails: it’s the “absolute least amount of something necessary to fulfill a requirement or achieve a goal.” If survival means being alive without truly living, can we really call it the bare minimum? In that state, I couldn’t offer anything to my friends or family, let alone contribute to society. Far from it—I would have been a burden, the antithesis of what I aspired to be.

Through months of recovery, relearning to walk, talk, and engage fully with life, I vowed to redefine my bare minimum. No longer would it be about mere survival; thriving would become my new baseline. Thriving means being able to love, to contribute to society, and to use the restroom on my own—essentially, to be fully human.

It’s time we all reconsider what we accept as the bare minimum. Let’s not settle for just getting by. We are capable of manipulating our environment and shaping our lives. We should aim not just to survive, but to thrive. This approach not only enriches our own lives but also allows us to contribute meaningfully to those around us. Thriving shouldn’t be a lofty goal; it should be the starting point—the true bare minimum for a life well-lived.