Recovery: Breakthroughs happen

The dictionary refers to a breakthrough as "an act or instance of breaking through an obstacle." That's what Recovery is all about--breaking through those obstacles that threaten to upset your life.

Obstacles, by their very own definition, place objects, people or thoughts in the way. When they are there, we sometimes think we cannot get past them. They are, after all, in the way, right?

But you don't have to be a Super Hero to move them. You just have to want them moved. I'm not talking about "thinking" your way around, over, under, or beside them. I'm talking about DOING something to get those obstacles out of the way.

When you're facing difficult times in life, whether that involves work, family, or your own inner demons, we can be challenged to our very core. Depending on what that challenge is, it can seem like a test we are sure to fail. But when you're working your recovery--when you're reading about something you need to learn, when you're learning a new skill to help you get that promotion, when you're going to regular counseling sessions to work on your relationships with others or yourself, when you're exercising and eating right because your health depends upon it--breakthroughs happen. They happen because you're fighting for them. And they happen because you're ready to replace the obstacles with solutions.

As I've mentioned before, Recovery is about action. You have to do something about a negative situation in order to turn it into a positive. A breakthrough is part of the solution. It's the answer, but it isn't yet solved. You're half-way there. You just need to put it in place.

Take what happened to me today: I have a strategic plan for my business. I wrote it with the help of a business coach. But it's not moving me where I want to go. I've needed to tweak it a bit. But I wasn't sure how. This is a challenge that's been bugging me for quite some time. The economic situation has affected my earnings and my savings, and I've been concerned about the dwindling numbers. I thought having a strategic plan in place would help. But that wasn't enough. It wasn't focused on the numbers I need to earn. It was focused on things I still need to do, but not on the money I need to earn and how to get the jobs that will pay it.

So I get a call from my financial advisor yesterday, who says something I needed to hear, was expecting to hear. I even thought I would have heard it sooner. And there it was. I had to face it. We'll be meeting next week to discuss my finances and what I'm doing to replenish that which I've been taking out. He didn't have harsh words for me. Just honest ones. And I found myself moping around this morning with worry. He's right. My income level is not where it needs to be. I am taking out funds from my accounts because of that. And I haven't had a plan in place to correct the delinquency. So, instead of being able to focus today on the edits I needed to do (the work that earns the dollars and cents), I kept finding other things to do. I told you; I was worried.

Finally, I gave in to the worry and left the house. I grabbed a book, a newsletter, and a few dollars and went to Starbucks for some coffee and down time. Within an hour, while reading an association newsletter, I came up with the financial plan I need. It was a breakthrough moment for me. I now know what I need to do in order to meet my financial goals by year-end--and please my financial advisor in the process. You see, he's part of my team. I need him, and he needs me. We work together, or we can't work at all. I wasn't doing my part. But now, I can show him otherwise.

Now, when I meet him next week, I have a plan in place, I know what to do, and he'll help me carry it out. The worry, which was my obstacle in this case, is gone. And I can focus on my work again.

How about you? Have you had any good breakthroughs lately?