As we celebrate Thrive’s eighth birthday, we find ourselves at a point of transformational impact as we have expanded our mission to include improving the world’s health and productivity through science-backed behavior change. We’ve launched Thrive AI Health in partnership with the OpenAI Startup Fund to democratize the life-saving benefits of improving daily habits and address growing health inequities. And, adding to our B2B work, we’ve entered the B2B2C space, working with leading pharmaceutical companies to redefine the consumer experience by using daily behaviors to augment life-changing medicines. Because as I learned from a painful wakeup call in 2007 that inspired me to found Thrive in the first place, health is also what happens between doctor visits. 

And I love the fact that in many cultures around the world, eight is a special number, associated with harmony, success and well-being. And in mathematics, turn eight sideways and you have the symbol for infinity! So as we look ahead to new adventures, it’s also a time to reflect on what we’ve learned since Thrive launched way back in 2016. To help, I’ve invited eight of Thrive’s leaders to share a lesson on our eighth anniversary. Together, they give a picture of how far we’ve come — and how much we look forward to accomplishing.

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1. Danny Shea, Chief Brand Officer

Use AI to supercharge behavior change. When we started Thrive 8 years ago, we knew that behavior change was hard. That’s why we assembled some of the best minds in neuroscience and behavioral economics to develop our behavior change methodology. Eight years in, we’re proud to say we’ve cracked the code on behavior change, leveraging Microsteps, storytelling and community to help people build healthier lives. And everything we’ve learned in the past eight years is now being supercharged by the power of AI, which dramatically accelerates our ability to both build hyper-personalized behavior change and deliver it at scale. That’s what inspired us this year to launch Thrive AI Health to build the world’s most personalized health coach. By our 9th anniversary we will be looking forward to all of the lives changed through the Thrive AI Health Coach as it delivers personalized health plans, real-time, proactive nudges around daily behaviors and ongoing health insights to create sustainable habits and improve health outcomes.

2. Tara Parker-Pope, Chief Content Officer

Find inspiration in adversity. The pandemic years were hard on everyone, but for many people, myself included, they also were transformative. Difficult times can force a rethink of personal and professional priorities, goals, relationships and even how we define well-being for ourselves. We can all emerge from hardship with clarity and a new sense of purpose if we’re open to the lessons we learned along the way. For me, it meant pivoting to more purpose-driven work at Thrive Global, where I hope to introduce a new audience to the power of small changes to improve our health, performance, connections and well-being. 

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 3. Joey Hubbard, Chief Training Officer

Look beyond DEI to belonging and “mattering.” Belonging means feeling accepted. “Mattering” means knowing you’d be missed if you weren’t there. When people feel they matter, they feel visible, heard, and valued — not just for what they do, but for who they are. Diversity, equity, and inclusion have been vital steps forward in creating better workplaces, but to truly thrive, we need to evolve the conversation to include belonging and mattering.This shift isn’t just good for individuals; it’s good for business. Employees who feel they matter are more satisfied with their work and their lives, more likely to be promoted, and less likely to leave their companies. Let’s prioritize creating workplaces where every person feels they truly make a difference.

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4. Jack Friend, Chief Operating Officer

Choose momentum over perfection. In my career, I’ve learned that decision-making isn’t just about getting it right; it’s about getting it moving. While some moments demand careful deliberation, the compounding effect of making fast decisions often outweighs the risks of hesitation. Every decision, even an imperfect one, sets a process in motion. If the decision falters, regrouping and pivoting can often happen faster than the time lost to indecision. On the other hand, waiting for perfect clarity can stall progress and drain energy. Momentum has a powerful way of amplifying progress, and sometimes the key to leveraging it is simply to keep things moving.

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5. Stephen Sherill, Director of Thought Leadership

Give people actionable information about their health. In the eight years since Thrive launched, there’s been a huge change in the way people think about their health. Health has diverged from health care. Now health is increasingly thought of as something that’s continuous — as what also happens between doctor visits. And more and more people are hungry to take an active role in their health. One survey found that 86% of Americans have used online platforms for medical advice in the past year instead of consulting a doctor. Another found that there are 70,000 health-related Google searches per minute — more than 1 billion per day. And yet only 40% find online health information reliable. That’s a gap that I’m happy to be able to help Thrive fill: giving people credible, accessible information about their health, and the tools to use that information to improve their health everyday. 

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6. Tess Bredesen, Director of Cognitive Nutrition

Harness the power of simplicity. Sometimes we make life more complicated than it has to be. One area of focus for me this year has been to simplify cooking at home. I've created a number of new recipes that use just 5 ingredients or less. (I have a pancake recipe that uses just three: Oats, mashed banana and an egg!) I've learned that you don't need a lot of "extra" flavors when you focus on simple whole foods. The new Thrive Global Cookbook, celebrates this approach, offering recipes that make eating well simple, joyful, and deeply nourishing.

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7. Nitasha Walia, Chief Product Officer

Move from “toddler” soccer to synchronized swimming. If anybody has seen toddler soccer, you know they are easily distracted and all doing their own thing on the field. None of them is actually moving the ball in the direction it needs to go. With synchronized swimming, everybody has a clear idea of what role they are playing, and everybody is doing their part so that the team is moving in the same direction. While toddler soccer is very cute, I'd rather teams be effective and efficient. To know whether your team is playing toddler soccer and help them move to synchronized swimming, ask three questions. 1. Does everyone have a shared common goal? 2. Is it the right goal? 3. What am I doing to help move toward that goal? 

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8. David Mcilwee, Head of Engineering

View feedback as a gift. Hearing that you've missed the mark is hard. But getting feedback has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me. How do we learn and grow without feedback? When I receive feedback, I’ve made it a habit to pause, take a breath and step back. Remind yourself that someone cares deeply about you. They're spending the time to give you feedback to help you improve yourself and be a better person. It’s okay to not respond in the moment. Give yourself space to digest the information. Honest, direct and compassionate feedback is the signal we all need to improve ourselves and those around us. If you care about someone, then offer feedback. No matter how hard it may seem, it's ultimately a gift.