shift your energy
then create a new story
strategies will come
A lot of people right now are feeling stuck. We’re entering the third year of a global pandemic. The uprooting of routines and any semblance of what we once considered normal life has left us grieving.
Some people just want to get “back to normal.” For others, this time may have illuminated that the old “normal” wasn’t really all that great. Certainly not worth going back to.
But if you’re not going back, where are you going? Maybe that answer hasn’t revealed itself yet. As a result, maybe you’re in a holding pattern, seeking a breakthrough that will help you get some traction.
In this post I want to share a simple framework for creating a breakthrough that I learned from Tony Robbins.
First, what’s a breakthrough?
As Tony defines it, a breakthrough is a moment in time when suddenly change becomes a must, not a should. A breakthrough is the moment you cross the threshold.
It’s likely you’ve had these moments. Everything has been building and suddenly something pushes you over the edge and you make that change you’ve been wavering about.
You might even recall what led you to that moment. But how do you repeat it in a new context?
Tony offers a 3-part framework for creating a breakthrough in any situation:
- Strategy
- Story
- State
The sequence here is essential.
Many people approach their situation following the order listed above.
Strategy
You have a situation where you feel stuck and you turn first to exploring a new strategy. What’s a better system I can implement? What else can I be doing? What are the tactics? What’s everyone else doing? You look around, your shop for online courses.
You hope the new strategy will lead to a different result, and a different story. If you have a new story, perhaps it will help you shift your emotional state.
That’s the wrong sequence.
According to Tony, when you start with strategy you get caught in “the tyranny of the how.”
When we start with how, we create uncertainty, which blocks execution.
It’s true you may need a new strategy; but even the best strategy will be ineffective if you’re not in a position to execute it.
Story
The story we tell about a situation is powerful. It shapes our experience and can literally blind us from seeing the right strategy even if it’s in front of us.
If you keep telling yourself you’ve tried everything, you won’t believe there’s another way.
If you’re believing a story of limited possibility or lack, you won’t see the potential and abundance surrounding you.
In order to see new possibilities and new strategies we must change the story we are telling.
As Tony says:
Change your story; change your life.
To change the story, we must start with changing our state.
State
Your state refers to your emotional and energetic state. This is your “emotional home,” the place where you tend to default, emotionally.
As Tony says,
The quality of your life is the quality of your emotions.
The acronym HALT reminds us to avoid making any major decisions when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. These are all examples of low energy states.
Changing your state starts in the physical body. Moving the body and the breath, increasing your physical energy, creates biochemical changes in your system.
When we move our bodies in new ways we activate constructive energy. Our minds then open to new possibility.
State > Story > Strategy
An easy way to change your state is to get up and move. I find that taking a quick walk outside in fresh air helps me get back to constructive energy.
Once you’re in a high energy state, you can choose a new, more empowering story. That story may help you see new strategies to try, or even give new life to existing strategies that will prove effective with your new outlook.
Change your state.
Change your story.
Choose a strategy.
Love it? Hate it? What do you think? Don't hold back...