My most valuable learning has come about through not accomplishing what I had intended (breakdown).
I failed grade four, which created a breakthrough (an extraordinary result beyond what is predictable) - I became a good student.
I failed my last year of dental school (I had little confidence and no visual depth perception).
Repeating the year increased my confidence level significantly - a breakthrough.
I graduated and practiced for almost 10 years.
When I have computer breakdowns, that is when I learn the most about computing.
Many of the greatest advances of humanity have come about through breakdowns (failures).
As an inventor, Thomas Edison made 1000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.
When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1000 times?" Edison replied, "I did not fail 1000 times.
The light bulb was an invention with 1000 steps.
" Breakdowns and breakthroughs through an ontological lens When I use the word "breakdown," I am not talking about a nervous breakdown or an emotional experience.
In this sense, it is not a psychological assessment.
Consider this situation.
I am driving my car in the country, enjoying the view.
I do not need to be at any place at a particular time.
Suddenly, I hear a loud noise, the steering wheel is vibrating.
Oh no.
I have a flat tire.
The towing service I call is very slow to arrive and on top of that, I am overcharged.
As far as I am concerned, my day is ruined.
My psychological assessment sounds like, "there is something wrong with it (the situation); there is something wrong with them (poor service and overcharged) and there is something wrong with me (I should have paid more attention to where I was driving).
" Through an ontological lens (the study of being and reality; the philosophy of language) the situation I have shared above is not a breakdown.
It is an inconvenience.
If I had a prior commitment to be somewhere at a specific time, by definition, that would constitute a breakdown.
In the face of a breakdown, my internal conversation would sound like, "I have a breakdown.
Where can I get help? Who can help me? What do I need to do and say to clean up this mess (broken commitment to someone).
What have I learned from this experience?" There is no drama or story here.
A breakdown is an interruption in the fulfillment of a prior commitment.
A breakthrough is an extraordinary outcome not based on prediction.
It is something that was not going to happen unless something new was introduced through a particular kind of speaking and acting.
In the America's Cup sailing competition, what the competitors do to create a breakthrough in performance is in practice, they push the yachts and teams beyond the limits of what they consider to be possible.
Typically, a breakdown(s) occurs and the teams use this to make adjustments to the design of the yachts as well as ways in which the team performs.
The result is a breakthrough.
The design of human beings is to keep things the same Human beings tend to play it safe and avoid risks.
The reason is that change and risk are a threat to the identity (ego), a threat to survival.
For those of us going through a midlife transition and dealing with the challenges of a rapidly changing world, a very effective strategy is to look for or create opportunities to experiment with risk and failure- to deliberately create breakdowns.
On the other side of this are breakthroughs and a rich and vibrant life.
The caveat is, creating breakthroughs on our own is the low road to take.
The high road consists of using a structure of support, like a coach and support group.