In 1980, Kurtis Blow released a song called the The Breaks. As popular as the song was for many years, I was two years old when it came out and had no idea what it meant until I became an adult. The Breaks is a slang term from the early 1900’s meaning turns of events. Although the term can be favorable or unfavorable, the latter is the most referenced context. In 2022, the breaks could be applied to the lives of many who are experiencing job loss, divorce, homelessness, family stress and other disapproving occurrences in life. The Breaks is a catchy term and even a great song, but is it factual?
According to dictionary.com and urbandictionary. com, the breaks implies there is nothing you can do about your situation. That the set of circumstances before you is the hand you are dealt and that’s your fate. Unfortunately, this is the stance that many have taken recently in various facets of life. There so many people giving up on life, literally and metaphorically. The suicide rate has increased significantly since the start of the pandemic. In 2020, 45,979 died by suicide in the United States; that’s 1 death every 11 minutes. I’m sure I will never fully understand the mind of person who chooses to complete suicide, but I am convinced, they were convinced there was nothing they could do about their situation and death was the best outcome for them. I am 200% against the idea that events in life happen beyond a person’s control and have made it my mission in life to eradicate this type of programming. I believe it contributes to poor mental health and is demonically influenced. Imagine believing your destiny in life can only turn out 1 of 2 ways? My example may seem exaggerated in explanation but this is the foundation of what I call limiting beliefs.
Limiting beliefs are a thought or state of mind that you think is the absolute truth and stops you from doing certain things. It is the weeds in the mind that choke out confidence and other attributes that foster a growth mindset. In other words, limiting beliefs are designed to keep you stagnant and stuck. Some may not even be aware they have limiting beliefs if they have been thinking a certain way for so long. Several months ago my daughter told me she had been having panic attacks. After talking with her and discussing how she’s been feeling lately, she discovered her panic attacks stemmed from thoughts and feelings of failure.
I was thrown because myself and her dad had no indication that this was something she struggled with. My daughter felt at her tender age of 24 she was supposed to have already started her career and figured out her entire life’s path by now. My immediate reactions were “Who told you that? Where did that come from? Why does this make sense to you?” Fortunately we were able to identify this thinking as irrational, dispel the limiting beliefs and challenge the thoughts in a way that made more sense to her.
But the greater take away here is that many people go through this everyday and have no one to say hey! this is not helpful, that doesn’t make since, who told you that? Lets talk about this. Instead, our brother’s, sister’s, daughter’s, uncle’s and son’s walk around carrying weights they believe to be true and set in stone feeling they have no control over their circumstances.
I know that I am not able to impact everyone in the world, my purpose is to speak to those who cross my path either through my blog, my practice, in my grocery store and in my community and let them know YOU ARE NOT LIMITED by your current circumstances! THESE ARE NOT THE BREAKS! I write a lot about negative thinking and thought life because every action or inaction begins with a thought. Joyce Meyer has a book called the The Battlefield of the Mind. If you have not read it, please check it out, as it is a great investment. But, this is why the media is so influential in peoples lives because it is easy to project images into the imagination through what you see and hear. The imagination can be a blessing or a curse depending how you use it. Proverbs 23:7 says “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” What are you thinking…in your heart? What images have you deemed as true from social media? Whose words have been spoken to you, to your heart that you have not challenged? What have you been listening to that hasn’t been helpful?
With the Holy Spirit as our guide, God’s positivity will inform how we see the world. If you have not already received Jesus Christ as your Lord savior and would like to, please pray this prayer out loud:
“Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that you raised Him to life. I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
The Jolt in Your Veins 