Breakdown, Breakthrough

By: Joseph Norman

Recently, I was reading a fantastic blog on personal development by Million Dollar Lifestyle business coach, Melanie Benson Strick. In one of her recent posts she discussed the “breakdown - breakthrough to success process.” She goes on to note that typically, humans are more motivated by moving away from pain then they are by pursuing pleasure.

This week I challenge you to reflect on the hard times you may be going through and strategize your way to success. There is no doubt that it is a difficult time in the global economy right now. In fact, we hear the myriad of reasons on the news, day in and day out. What matters is not what is happening, but how you react.

What is it that makes you break down? It’s a variety of external stresses caused by things like work, neighbors, significant others, personal finance, health, etc.

What is it that motivates you during difficult times? A personal challenge to yourself to survive. It is fight or flight syndrome at its finest. My belief is that it stems from an innate desire to get more out of life. We know we deserve better than the hand we are currently being dealt.

What propels the select few to success? A hyper-consciousness for the last thought. Some people are born to push the limits. They are hard-wired to take any of life’s inequities and use it as inspiration for greater achievement. When times are rough, these people see opportunities that others have not opened their eyes to.

What is critical about these three questions is that they are not unique at all. We all experience them at some degree in our lives. The only inimitable experience is how we choose to react.

Some people drop into depression while others propel themselves to greatness. What is crucial to note is that each individual had the same opportunity. Tony Robbins asks a question which is particularly pertinent to this situation; “Is it the beginning or is it the end?”

My challenge to you this week is to make the personal choice that the difficult times will be the beginning of something better in your life, not the end. Success IS a choice.