The Breaking Point (Part 1 of 3)
I have had many opportunities in life and have jumped at quite a few of them and many times they have paid off. With success comes many rewards. However, there are many challenges that may also accompany success. You will be challenged and tested in many ways that you at times couldn’t fathom at one point or another. Just like an athlete that is attempting to build their body and condition themselves so that they are able to perform in their height of conditioning, we fracture bones and at times break when we’ve reached our limits. Now, everyone isn’t an athlete and more, everyone isn’t physically active but everyone is mentally active. All battles, struggles, and failures begin and end in your head. The battleground is in your head and will always begin and end in mental warfare. I myself have dealt with this type of warfare and at times it was not the easiest to overcome, however, I overcame it. The mental strength that comes from overcoming the obstacles that are placing themselves in your head cannot be purchased, they must be built. This only happens with understanding the battle that is actually happening, assessing it, and turning around and turning it into a tool to better yourself.
How it begins.
Like a bone-breaking, a breakdown of us mentally or physically happens to a series of steps and processes. Refracture just like the bones in our body and that is always the first step before the break happens. So how do we recognize the fracture? Well, there are many things that happen that are part of the fracturing process. Many times when we start to fracture mentally we run into a sense of depression. a lot of times we don’t even know that we are depressed or going through this moment. Now, this can be caused by a variety of things. The loss of a job, the loss of a loved one, the gain of a child in a family, the gain of additional debt, or simply the uncertainty of which direction our life is going in. No matter which situation is the reason behind the depression being triggered, the important thing is to be aware of the ways in which you can manage it.
Anxiety.
Another sign of the fracture happening is anxiety. This word and mental health issue have been used widely and very frequently over the last few years. We have seen the discussions all over headlines, social media, and television regarding anxiety. It seems as if everyone would like to make this topic their focal point when it is only one piece to this riddle of mental health that we are attempting to solve. Anxiety, like depression, is born from trauma. Trauma fires the first shot that goes off in our head that causes the back and forth of ideas and thoughts surrounding the transition that we are being presented with. These transitions can simply be something such as having a routine that must change due to a change in an environment. Or an individual requesting a meeting with you or pulling you aside for a sudden conversation. People will be more sensitive to these examples and others that may happen if in a sensitive or vulnerable space in their mind.
Calm.
In today’s world there are tons and tons of books, videos, individuals and many other items that are speaking on health, mindfulness, wellness and so forth. Everything from the many forms of meditation to yoga is being pumped out into the world as ways of dealing with the many different forms of trauma. Many times if we just slow down or stop and stand still, both literally and proverbially, we will be able to move in the calm of any storm that we are dealing with. There is a saying that is using tied to many religious people but it stands true in any context of life that may be tumultuous. That saying is simply, Peace, Be Still. If you can discipline yourself to stop in a moment of chaos or confusion and take a few deep breaths, you will see your world and all things around you slow down and somewhat come to a stop. When you have slowed a situation down enough you can see the circumstance more clearly and many times can see where the problem may be housing itself or exactly what it is. Remember, to stop in chaos can be the key to continual movement on your journey.
Overall, if you can meet with anxiety and take it by the reins and execute effective techniques that bring calm to you, the challenges that you see yourself having with creating fluid movement through your life will dissipate gradually.
