Pondering The Tipping Point

Each and every one of us has an emotional tipping point…that place beyond which reason and sensibility are subsumed by the irrational and the illogical…that point where the person we know and understand ourselves to be becomes the stranger we are reluctant to admit to being.

While we may prefer to be a Dr Jekyll there is a Mr Hyde just below the psychological surface. Sanity and connection are always preferred over madness and disunity. But it’s not always possible to have and hold our preference.

The problem forced on us by the society we have all helped create is that so many people live their lives in close proximity to the line that separates truth from fiction. It’s that blurring of the line and our own lack of focus that is the root cause of  so much of our temperamental fluctuation and the pain and uncertainty which it creates.

The result is that we can have good days and bad days, good relationships and fraught relationships, a good life or a troubled existence.

The underlying and reassuring truth is that we have the capacity to choose and exercise control. We get to call the shots…but only for ourselves.

We are responsible for our own opinions and attitudes. That responsibility extends to the acceptance of consequence. We own the results of how we think and act whether we like it or not. Culpability and kudos sit at either end of the accountability spectrum. Neither can or should be shirked when the occasion arises.

It make good sense then to regularly assess how close we are to our own tipping point and make adjustments accordingly. One way to do that is to take time to think about what we are thinking about. Awareness and understanding of self are keys to fulfilment and the realisation of potential.