I once heard of a story of a distraught young man going into counseling for his addictions. He grasped the armrest of the chair tightly and asked the pastor, “So what can you do for me to break through the addiction I have had for so many years?” The pastor quietly waited as if preparing to jump off a diving board. “Son, you really only have one problem,” he expressed, “you really don’t hurt bad enough.” The young man became irate, “I didn’t come here to be pounced on!” “Hear me out,” stated the pastor, “change will only occur when you hurt to the point you really want to change.” The pastor continued, “Outside of that, you will continue to hurt yourself and those who love you.”
Between the young man and the pastor which side would you choose and why?
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Sometimes it takes an overwhelming breakdown to have an undeniable breakthrough.
A breakthrough can only take place when you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Insanity is to continue to do the same thing expecting a different result. If we are honest, we lack breakthroughs when we become comfortable in the place we are in, or we resist the ability to change when opportunities come our way for help. Sir Isaac Newton coined this the Law of inertia, which is the ability to resist change or continue moving forward unless interrupted. A breakthrough will only occur with the change in time usage, form new habits, commitment, etc. which causes us to act. In other words, a force must be applied to move an object from its state of being. For us to see change there must be an outer change or force acting on us (God), and an inner change (Will) working together to create change. The soccer ball at rest in the image will never change unless it’s kicked, and sometimes, we need a swift kick to change our trajectory.
The breakthrough is on the other side of what you are resisting.
List several things that are holding you back from your breakthrough.
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Let’s summarize the breakthrough points for today.
- Could it be you are not hurting enough? Are you in a place of comfort to the point change is difficult? Recall, that we can only break through when we have had enough. For example, I once heard of a story of a man who wanted to change his life. He met a guru who promised him transformation and riches. “Son, get dressed in your finest attire and meet me at the beach,” the guru expressed. Early the next morning the young man fitted with his best attire met the guru at the beach. Perplexed, the young man began walking on the beach with his finest shoes as the sand crunched beneath him. “Come on,” said the guru, “come on in.” “You mean you want me to go in the water?” shouted the young man to the teacher in the water submerged to his waist. “You said you wanted to change, right?” “Now is your breakthrough,” the guru retorted back. Each step brought on a grimacing look to the young man. Now submerged to the waist, the teacher challenged him to go deeper. “This is crazy,” thought the young man. Slowly the young man moved to the level of the water at his neck. Then out of nowhere, the guru submerged his entire head holding him under as he struggled to breathe. “What are you doing?” screamed the young man, “trying to kill me?” “Just teaching you that unless you live life like it’s your last breath you will never be successful,” expressed the guru as the water cascaded off his body.
- Avoid inertia, by being aware of things, environments, and choices that keep you stagnant.
- Breakthrough will only occur when you live life like it’s your last breath. If you only had one month to live, how would you approach living life? What would you do differently?
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