Finding Strength in Life's Fractures: How Breaking Leads to Healing

Ever noticed how life seems to break us right when we least expect it? That's what happened to me this week—literally. After weeks of moving boxes, setting up our new shop, and pushing my body to its limits, I found myself flat on the floor with my back completely out. Physical agony has a way of forcing us to slow down and listen.

Broken bones fascinate me. When properly set, they actually heal stronger at the breaking point. The body reinforces what was once weak, creating greater resilience precisely where the fracture occurred. But this only works when we acknowledge the break, get proper treatment, and give ourselves time to heal. Walking on a broken leg isn't brave—it's a recipe for permanent damage.

The same principle applies to our emotional, mental, and spiritual fractures. When dreams shatter, relationships end, or careers derail, our instinct is to push through, paste on a smile, and pretend we're fine. But what if those breaking points are actually invitations? Moments that force us to reset, realign, and finally address what we've been avoiding? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone and thank you for joining me this
week on the Mike Muldoon podcast.
Thanks so much for being here.
Hope you're having a great week.
This is a really wild podcastthat I'm doing because, well, I
want to talk about broken things, but I got to tell you I feel
broken physically over the lastmonth between we were moving and
tons and tons of boxes eventhough I had some movers, I
still had a ton of stuff to moveand we're doing our shop and

(00:22):
tons of deliveries and moving,moving, moving, and at one point
this week I my knee had justflared up and I was like
hobbling around and thenyesterday, yesterday, I threw my
back out.
I threw my back out and, um, Iended up like on the floor of
our shop, like in so much painand it's still.
I'm better today.
I'm better, but it's stillpainful.

(00:43):
So, uh, yeah, it's pretty crazyAgain, but it was weird because
all this is happening to me andthe podcast I wanted to talk
about today you know, stuff Iwant to talk about today was
about broken bones, but not justthe physical kind.
You know what I mean.
I'll start there, but just staywith me on this.
It's really about what happenswhen we break emotionally,
mentally, spiritually and whythose breaks, painful as they

(01:03):
are, might just be exactly whatwe need, and that's what we're
going to talk about today.
Think about a broken bone.
When it's set properly, thehealing process actually makes

(01:41):
the bone stronger at the breakpoint.
It's the body's way of sort ofreinforcing what was once weak.
I mean, that's prettyfascinating, isn't it?
But it only works if it's setright.
See, if you ignore the break,you walk on it, pretend it's not
broken, you're going to risk,basically, permanent damage.
That's what I was telling yourest up, right, and that's true
in life too.
When something inside of usbreaks, a dream falls apart, a

(02:02):
relationship ends, or, you know,we fail big.
We want to rush past it, right,we want to cover it up, we want
to push through, we want to putit behind us, but sometimes we
even try to.
You know, keep walking on it.
I guess you know just smilingat work, trying to be strong for
everybody else, even though youknow we're broken and like, uh,

(02:25):
you know, an untreated fracture.
I guess you know, the longer weavoid it, the worse it can get.
But what if we saw those breaksas invitations?
Uh, a moment to, you know,reset, to realign, to pause and
say, okay, this hurts, but what?

(02:47):
But what now?
I mean, what can I learn fromthis?
I feel like that's kind ofwhat's happened to me this week,
because a lot of times physicalailments can also be emotional
ailments, and I've talked aboutthis in my past.
You know what can we learn fromthis and what I've learned?
The hard way and maybe you toohave times the break is often

(03:07):
really where the healing beginsright.
It's where truth steps in,where we finally listen, where
we stop pretending and startbecoming.
And this week for me it's beenmore about slowing down and
knowing you know what, whateverhas to get done is going to get
done.
I'm going to get done.
But for me in the past, youknow when you've been broken,
maybe it's by, you know, a lossof an opportunity or a
relationship or a job orwhatever it was.

(03:29):
It finally gives us anopportunity to kind of reflect
on it and then to start healing,because sometimes we're so
blinded by certain things Nowwe're kind of forced to listen,
stop pretending and startbecoming and realize what that
challenge or what it may havebeen that was really affecting
us then.
So I guess, for anybody outthere who might, you know, be

(03:52):
feeling this way.
I guess the challenge is lookat a break in your life.
You know, look in the past ifyou can, or if you're having one
now or in the future, but don'tlook at a break in your life
Not as something shameful orembarrassing, but as part of
your story, wouldn't that be?
You know, makes you stronger Ifyou can remember that break

(04:14):
from your past, or if you'regoing through it, I don't know
Journal about it, write it down,talk to somebody you trust, or
just sit with it quietly.
I mean, you don't have to haveall the answers right away,
right?
Healing isn't instant, you know.
Or your healing then wasn'tinstant, but it is possible and
it was possible because you'rehere now and often it's that
very break that shapes thestrongest part of us.

(04:37):
It's that sometimes it's thatbreak that pushes us in a
direction that changes our lives.
So, but as much as I don't wantphysically anybody to break, as
we get older we take on more.
Maybe we start reflecting onour lives.
You know we start breaking inother ways.
You know, as a kid we broke ourarms jumping from trees and

(04:59):
jumping ramps and you know, Isaw a really interesting meme
about that recently wheresomebody was talking about and I
remember this too growing upYou'd go to school and you'd be
like dude, what happened?
Your friend would have a brokenleg, another friend would have
a broken arm, Someone had abroken nose Jumping out of trees
, jumping ramps, running.
We were wild and crazy.
You know, we were just out inthe world doing things.

(05:20):
But I think as we get older,those breaks do come in a form
of more of an emotional orspiritual or some sort of mental
break, some sort of mentalbreak, and that's an opportunity
to look at it.
Don't look at it as somethingthat's going to set you back.
Look at it as an opportunityfor healing, to help move you
forward.
All right, all right.
Everybody, thanks for listeningto me today.
I mean, if this episode isconnecting with you, great.

(05:41):
If you know somebody who mightneed it, share it with them.
As always, you know, make sureyou subscribe on Spotify and
Apple Podcasts and share any youknow any episodes that might be
resonating with you, or friendsor family members, and listen.
It's the weekend, have a greattime, be safe and, as always, I
got nothing but love for you.
We'll see you next time.