Can things breakdown ... even when I'm living appreciatively?

Somewhere along the way, I picked up the notion that when life was going as I wanted it to go, I would find myself riding on a smooth and uninterrupted trajectory, moving forever forward and upward in a spiral of bliss, joy. and all that other good stuff.

It's taken me a while to realize that making adjustments as I journey along is an integral aspect of living the good life.

In my experience, living appreciatively involves (to borrow the words of Robert E. Quinn) "Building the bridge as you walk on it," and handling the challenges, false-starts, missteps, breakdowns, and path-adjustment activities that accompany any process of active construction.

So, I'll make the claim that inherent in the process of living appreciatively is the process of learning to live appreciatively, and that indeed, things can breakdown, even when living appreciatively.

I once heard someone say 'breakdowns lead to breakthroughs". To live in the appreciative is to recognize this and to use breakdowns to our benefit and to learn from them.

Learn more about the learning curve that goes along with moving forward in in any change activity by watching Margaret Wheatley's brief video, "Everything Breaks Down in the Middle." 

You may be interested in Quinn's book, Building the Bridge As You Walk On It: A Guide for Leading Change or Wheatey's Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future [Amazon.com links]