More than once this past year, I've heard the time period for working the process for change referred to as the "messy middle." I'm in the process of reading Dr. Brene' Brown's book Rising Strong, in which she takes the reader through the process of the messy middle. This is the part we hide. This is the part that's left out of our testimonies. This is the part of a fitness quest where the blood, sweat, tears, cussing, and vomit part of the before and after story are conspicuously missing. The messy middle is lying in the floor in the fetal position asking God to give you a reason to live. The messy middle is hanging on to the sides of a treadmill with a white-knuckled death grip because you're dead tired, but you'd rather die than fall off or quit in front of anyone. No one likes the messy middle. They just want to see a before picture of a fat, unhappy person, then applaud as that same person bursts through that image the picture of health, wealth, and happiness. Here's AFTER!
Sorry, snowflake, it don't work that way.
The messy middle is where triumph is built. Like I read on Dave Ramsey's Twitter page: Success is a pile of failure that you are standing on.
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Prompts provided by Mrs. Kate over at Heading Home.
Hello Shannon. I'm your fmf neighbour. I've not posted in a while and seem to have messed up my link. Although it gives the title prompt 'Decide', the link will definitely bring you to the correct post for Middle.
ReplyDeleteI love the angle you have taken with this prompt and agree wholeheartedly with what you say. I've always found glowing testimonies about success, prosperity and triumph, lack the reality stage of what people struggle with between the before and after. Sounds an interesting book. Thank you for sharing and have a blessed (and not too messy) week! :-)
Always applaud the 'messy middle' of hard work.
ReplyDeleteYep.
DeleteOh, I so agree. We need to persist through the messy middle--and perhaps be more honest. I am your neighbor at FMF.
ReplyDelete