Breakthrough requires going through; otherwise we’re just left with the breaking.”

– Rachael St. Germain

It’s so tempting to run from hard. Because hard is uncomfortable. Hard is painful. Hard is…well…hard to sit with.

For years, I was an absolute “pro” at avoiding pain and problems at all cost.

In fact, I was so skilled at the art of distraction that I often didn’t even realize I was doing it. Emotional numbing and problem-oblivion was just a go-to automatic response I’d click into when I felt overwhelmed, anxious, ashamed, or depressed.

Rather than facing the truth of my secret struggles, sitting with the crushing pressure of work, admitting how lonely I felt in a crowded room, or owning the various other “real, God-honest truths” of my personal reality, I’d opt to reach for quick fixes. Distractions that offered me a bump of excitement, happiness, or some other kind of emotional relief.

My habit of numbing never really raised any red flags or warranted concern from others because my go-to numbing agents often looked like good things. They looked like societally celebrated, admired, even “noble” things. Things like:

• Working long hours at the office and ever-striving for that next rung on the ladder of achievement
• Constantly making myself available and being of service to others (even to the point of exhaustion and disservice to my own personal health and well-being)
• Being “health-conscious” and eating “clean”
• Being the social butterfly and hosting fun gatherings with friends

None of the above things (or any of my other coping mechanisms) were inherently bad. In fact, in moderation, all of these things can actually be very good things.

But when we reach for good things to suppress our “real” things, that’s when things turn “bad.”

Here’s the thing, Friend.

All of us are faced with darkness. And none of us likes it. None of us enjoys confronting painful emotions or shame-filled truths.

But when it comes to healing – whether physically, mentally, or emotionally – it’s necessary. We have to do the uncomfortable and confront what we don’t want to face in order to be free.

To find our way to breakthrough need to:

• Stop numbing and distracting away our problems so we can finally find a “real” fix
• Sit with our God-honest-truth feelings so we can understand why we’re feeling the way we feel
• Feel our “real” so we can finally heal

If we want “breakthrough,” if we want to find our way out of the darkness (of whatever unwanted reality we’re facing), we need to make peace with the “through.”

Breakthrough requires going through; otherwise we’re just left with the breaking.

So, let’s walk through this.

Recently, I sat down with my friend, Melody Miles, host of the Soulcation podcast, to have a conversation around how we can find the strength to face our pain and slay our personal dragons to break into freedom.

During our chat, you’ll also learn more about:

• My own personal story and the tools I used for healing
• How to get out of “comparison traps” on social media
• How to work through our uncomfortable emotions and pay attention when we don’t feel so great inside
• How to hold space for what we really feel and change what we’re making that feeling mean to us
• The “radiant rebellion” method I use to help others find their own way to breakthrough and healing

Interested in having a listen? Click here to jump right in.

You can also learn more about Melody Miles and her work to help others build a life they don’t have to take a vacation from over here on her website.

About Melody Miles:

Find yourself in a cycle of playing hard on vacation to escape the pain of working always working?

Melody is your girl to help put an end to that madness.

Melody Miles is an emerging millennial leader on rest, self-care, and creating space in life for your soul to breathe. Formerly an international expert at the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, Melody now spends her days on a mission to give stressed out, overworked professionals permission to rewrite the script, create more space in their lives, and find the freedom they’ve always wanted.

Melody believes you don’t need to sacrifice rest for success. In fact, she believes your greatest competitive advantage at work is actually the rhythms of rest you maintain in your daily life. Using her propriety “Soulcation” methodology, Melody has helped numerous clients listen to their inner voice and cultivate habits to shake their sleepy souls. And she’d love to help you out as well.