Sometimes struggle is about doing the same thing over and over and getting no where. It’s like the wrong kind of perseverance. If we’re persevering to struggle, then all we’re really doing is putting lots and lots of energy into getting no where. It’s like we’re just stuck in the fight or the play. It’s a habit.

So what’s the difference between struggling, getting no where, and perseverance, that gets us somewhere?

Let’s stop for a moment and recognize that we’re talking about getting somewhere on the physical-mental-emotional plane and not on the spiritual plane where there is no where to go and nothing to do. I’m talking about getting out of the mental-emotional traps that I’ve created for myself. The endless loops of negativity that I keep myself stuck in and things like that. The fighting with myself that repeats over and over and changes insignificantly… berating myself, feeling unworthy, thinking that I should have done things better, feeling guilty, etc, etc, etc.

This is the fighting and wallowing and creating drama kind of struggle that goes no where and uses up lots of energy and focus. It makes me tired just thinking about it.

And when is that different from working with something and getting somewhere with it? When are we breaking the old patterns and creating something new?

An important question seems to be, where am I in relation to it?

Am I looking at it from the place that I usually do? Am I considering it from the normal perspective with the usual thoughts, feelings and postures? Am I standing and breathing the same way, thinking the same way and feeling the same way? That tends to promote the struggle, because nothing different than the old struggle is happening. This is perpetuating the cycle. Instead it’s when I am feeling it and thinking about it from different places that seems to make the difference. When I can stand differently and breathe differently that changes struggle to perseverance.

Can I step outside of the situation and look at it from a different perspective, like taking a bird’s eye view? Can I bring a totally new emotional landscape to it, preferably one that is expansive in some way? Can I think about it in a totally new way, with a new frame of mind? Can I breathe deeper or differently and break the physical patterning? Any one of these help shift the dynamic.