On Leadership: Redefining Breakthrough

This is a wonderful time of year for those of us who enjoy brisker weather and the cozy contrast that comes indoors. If you enjoy good food and celebration, you’re in your element at the Thanksgiving table.

But the relative quiet and darkness of impending winter naturally pulls us toward introspection, even as friends and family and every retailer are demanding festivity. The tug-of-war and our conflicted impulses can leave even the most sociable of us feeling something else … uncomfortable.

Sometimes that “something-else feeling” signals that change is right around the corner. And the great thing about breakthroughs is that they come in many different forms. If you are open to them occurring, and if you are willing to invite change around the bigger context of your life rather than just change in the smaller content of your life, then the magnitude of those breakthroughs will adjust accordingly.

Regardless of the magnitude, those changes in your life will ensure you thrive, rather than just survive. We have to be willing to acknowledge what’s not working in our lives, which means being vulnerable and honest with ourselves. From there, great things can happen.

Enter your discomfort zone

A crucial principle of physical training is to challenge the body. When a training mode has gotten familiar and therefore “comfortable,” it’s time to change things up. Switch to functional training after a few months of strength training, and it’s surprising how difficult the new mode can be. Those single-leg bodyweight deadlifts challenge small muscle groups in new ways as you struggle not to fall over. It’s a breakthrough that certainly isn’t “big” in the conventional sense of adding more weight, but it’s no less significant.

Just as we may choose to continue a training mode that’s “easy,” we often do the things that make us feel comfortable in the moment, at this time of year: stress eating and drinking, skipping workouts, even emotional reactions you thought you’d outgrown. Breaking away from these patterns for good requires not only intention and action, but also support. We are here to support you through whatever level of breakthrough you open yourself up for.

Breakthrough, applied

A “don’t know” mind is another element of breakthrough, one that leaves us open to discovery – including where we’re afraid to look. We cover the value of assessments, including ways to turn a financial end-of-year evaluation from something to dread into an exercise in abundance.

How will you make space for your breakthrough?

Photo credit: Thinkstock, iStock pojoslaw.