Breakdowns
I love breakdowns. Really. I think they’re the best. I don’t want them all the time, but I’ve never had a moment of growth that didn’t stem from some form or degree of a breakdown.
When most people hear or say “breakdown,” this is usually loaded with imprecise, subjective and hyperbolic meaning. The truth is that a breakdown is a very simple process.
A breakdown is this: any moment when a structure no longer has what is required to support itself.
Breakdowns occur constantly. You might have a breakdown when you lose your keys; in that moment of not being able to find your keys, the structure of your memory does not have what is required to find your keys.
In my own life, I look to find where I don’t have some capacity or another – socially, knowledgeably, emotionally, physically, spiritually – to produce the results or situations I desire. The first step is to recognize that I don’t have what I want – the breakdown. Next, I step back to see where gaps exist that are contributing to that breakdown. Finally, I take responsibility for those gaps and work to fill them.
Example:
Step 1: Acknowledging that I recurrently lose my keys.
Step 2: Being that I have my keys when I walk in the house, a gap exists in the steps I take after I walk in my door.
Step 3: I decide to commit to a routine so as to place my keys in the same spot after I walk in the door.
Breakdown -> Solution -> No more breakdown.
Systematically applying this process has been one of the most significant sources of improving the quality of my life.
(Editor’s note: I almost never lose my keys and can’t quite say I understand people who do.)