Bend, don’t break.
You hear it all the time. Why?
Maybe the better questions is: Why not break?
Then, afterwards, clutch the shattered remnants, feel their sharp points and jagged edges. Then, try to piece it back together.
“But there’s never been an example of injury and adversity in my life where I haven’t come back from it stronger and wiser and more humble and more appreciative. You know, so what’s the answer then?
Do you push yourself until you get injured? Because struggle and adversity eventually makes you that better person and allows you to reach your potential even more”.
Rob Krar
Breaking implies failure for some and represents finality for others. For all, end is beginning.
Thus, breaking is a form of renewal. The whole premise of science is to rigorously test an experiment to see if, indeed, it does break.
This is likely due to the need that humans feel to be proven right, at least more so than we desire to be proven wrong. Appearing to be “right” validates. It’s a nice ego stroke.
Keep bending, you’re never wrong. Break once; question everything.
Ride that edge long enough, and it’s inevitable: the jagged points will rip right through every fiber of hubris that got you there. Only then, if you pay attention, like really pay attention, might a lesson or two be gleaned.
Without a doubt, mind and body are connected. Piecing it back together starts with the mind. If the body believes what the mind perceives, then thoughts generate action.
“Destruction is also creation”.
Marcel Duchamp
Bending is a disservice and its’ lessons are ephemeral. Those who only bend cling onto a thin veneer of self-assurance that only gets revealed when the comfort zone is long gone. Keep bending and stay convinced you’re better than you are.
That’s not learning. It’s more like the perfect cocktail for stagnancy.
So, do you bend? Do you break? Is one right? Is the other wrong? When and how often?
I’m not presumptuous enough to know the answer. I do know, however, that every decision and action has a cost. Bending equates to playing it just safe enough to where you still have more answers than questions. Why be wrong?
“Knowledge without mileage is bullshit”
Henry Rollins
Breaking, for better or for worse, hits harder. In those initial phases of introspection, its' taste more potent. Its’ feel more visceral. It’s at that point precisely where one gains the invaluable opportunity to really, truly learn about self. Those are insights no coach, “guru”, or “expert” can provide.
“I’ve been hurt, I’ve gotten better. Hurt, I’ve gotten better...
I know that process that I had to go through to get better. It’s a formulaic process”.
Laird Hamilton
I formerly deduced breaking as weakness. Yes, it is defined as such; however, through experience, my definition of ‘breaking’ has broadened to include (but is not limited to): breaking out, emerging, changing, and opportunity. Thus, if we allow for it, the sharp edges that result in the aftermath can actually be put back together to build something. It might not look the some ever again, but whose to say it can’t be better?
Whether one chooses to interpret breaking as a path hell-bent on destruction or sees it as an opportunity to reset before taking another plunge into the fray, new ground will be broken. It might be worth re-framing how we perceive destruction. Destruction not only leads to construction, but it’s a form of it. They are inseparable. Break. Build. Question. Feel. Learn. Grow.
Onward.
