We’ve all been there before, filling cracks in the walls where plaster has shifted.  

Fill and sand and paint.  Rinse and repeat.  Or better yet, throw some wallpaper over them to hide them completely.

But how often do we think about why those same cracks reappear?  Why they’re fine for a period of time, but then one day you walk past and notice them.

It’s because we’re just repairing the superficial issue.  We’re simply rejoining the weak parts of the plaster back together and hoping that this will solve the issue once-and-for-all.

But it won’t.

The fix is only ever temporary.  

In life it becomes some brief dopamine fix to take our minds momentarily away from the real problem at hand, that’s what we do time and time again.

So how do we solve the problem in a more permanent fashion?

Well then we have to become more introspective and consider what really underpins the issues that we’re having.

See when you repair the plaster properly, you have to scrape back the weak parts to reveal more solid plaster in order to join these more stable pieces together.

As in life as in DIY, we have to look closely at where these weaknesses stem from.  What causes the cyclical cycle of lulls?  What brings on these negative feelings and thoughts?  It’s likely to not be the first thing that jumps to mind.

If the cracks are stress-related, what is truly causing that stress?  

If it’s work, is it the feeling of a lack of organisation or a lack of motivation or a lack of feeling valued?  

If it’s relationships, is it the way that we are being treated or the way that we value ourselves or issues in previous relationships that we are fearful of manifesting again?

Far too often we simply look to scratch the tip of the iceberg, identifying the trigger that has ‘tipped us over the edge.’  But far more often it’s the great mass beneath the water’s surface that holds the answers to our concerns.

And whilst it may be scary to peer beneath the surface, true solutions can be found there.

Take a look.