Igniting The Tipping Point!

By Dr. Kim Carter

The tipping point is that significant place of trajectory.  It is the slightest breath that can change your world.  It is the lightest weight of a single strand of hair that when placed on the balancing scale can change life's direction on a dime.  The tipping point is the very place where dreams turn into destiny, where trials turn into triumphs, where passion meets purpose, and where you experience a breakthrough that busts brokenness wide open and nothing but brilliance appears.  The tipping point is where each step into a certain direction equates to a decision that defines our very being.  Who knew that something likened to the straw that broke the camel's back, or the tip of the iceberg, could be such a significant and pivotal piece.

Conversely, we are challenged to be mindful that the tipping point does not always falter on the positive side.  The tipping point, when falling in the opposite direction, can leave you dealing with adverse situations or circumstances.  What happens when you meet the scale of adversity, where your faith, grit, and strength are truly put to the test?  Values come into question and victory appears and then suddenly disappears like a fleeting thought.  Motives turn into methodology that makes mayhem, and one word can take you from a calm state to one of chaos in a second.  This is where fight or flight becomes an everyday way of life.  A tightly wound watch that turned once more results in springs gone wild.

We can miss the opportunity to own reactions to whatever way the tipping point goes if we are not in tune with our values and the cues our mind & body provides.  The question becomes, can you bend the tipping point your way?  Can you will, or influence, the tipping point's direction?  I firmly believe that, although we can't control or predict unforeseen elements, we can ignite the tipping point by positioning ourselves to take advantage of whichever way it goes.  We influence the tipping point by the way in which we respond to its causal effects.  We must be very aware of our internal litmus to discern what items have the ability to move the needle, our stance.  Whether the odds are for us or against us, we must develop and maintain both an offensive and defensive strategy to address what comes our way; this requires constant and consistent practice so that our response becomes second nature.  We are charged with developing "if then" statements for every life scenario.  Having a string of rehearsed reactions that are sure to ignite the tipping point's direction.  Controlling the slightest push in either direction, or wielding your response when you can't, places you at the exact same point of igniting your tipping point's direction.  Malcolm Gladwell (2000) states, "Look at the world around you.  It may seem like an immovable, Implacable place.  It is not.  With the slightest push - in just the right place - it can't be tipped."  Ignite your tipping point!