✅ TREE 161: You’re not as broken as they say

You may not be as broken as you think.

So much of our society operates this way:
Guess what? You are broken!
Here is how you are broken.
We know the secret to fix you.
Give us money.
Amen.

‘You are broken’ is popular because it sells. It sells beauty products and diet food and religion and courses and books and illegal butt-growing drugs. ‘You are broken’ is an effective story because a lot of times, it feels true.

Is it actually true?

When you get sick, do you get better?
When you sustain an injury, do you recover?
When you feel strong emotions, do they fade after a while?
When you face something beyond your ability to handle, do you seek help?

If you answered yes, you are not broken. Congratulations! You are a normal, functioning human.

Why this matters:

1. It gives you sales resistance. If you’re not broken, there is a whole world of products you don’t need anymore.

2. Reality is the best starting place for personal growth. Typically, ‘getting real’ is framed as facing negative truths about yourself, but it works better when you face all the truth about yourself, including your not-brokenness.

3. Climbing a mountain is just as much work as climbing out of a hole, but it’s more fun.

You’re growing!
Jeff

This post is part of the TREE introductory series

1. Consider a tree

2. Life is a gift

3. Life is a game

4. Grow slowly

5. How you believe is more important than what you believe

6. You’re not as broken as they say

We liked last week, so we’re doing it again. Christine is choosing the songs for me this week. She’s made an excellent and appropriate start:

The Memory of TREE playlist – every song from every email: