--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes a breakdown can be the…" description: "\"Sometimes a breakdown can be the beginning of a kind of breakthrough, a way of living in advance through a trauma that prepares you for a future of rad..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/cherrie-moraga-30761_breakdown_sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginni_1442135.jpg" --- # Sometimes a breakdown can be the beginning of a kind of… ![“Sometimes a breakdown can be the beginning of a kind of breakthrough, a way of living in advance through a trauma that prepares you for a future of radical transformation.” quote by Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/cherrie-moraga-30761_breakdown_sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginni_1442135.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/cherrie-moraga-30761_breakdown_sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginni_1442135.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/cherrie-moraga-30761_breakdown_sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginni_1442135.jpg) > “Sometimes a breakdown can be the beginning of a kind of breakthrough, a way of living in advance through a trauma that prepares you for a future of radical transformation.” [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A personal crisis can serve as a catalyst for profound growth, turning trauma into a transformative breakthrough. **In simple terms:** Breakdowns can spark major personal breakthroughs. Key Takeaway Embrace hardship as a chance for transformation. Themes resilience growth trauma Mood hopeful inspirational Type psychological motivational When to use this quote - therapy - creative projects - career change - spiritual practice Key Concepts post‑traumatic growth self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What lessons have you learned from hardship? - How can you nurture growth after trauma? A Different Perspective Not all breakdowns lead to breakthroughs without support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breakdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakdown/) [Breakdown Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakdown-beginning-5163670/) [Breakthrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakthrough/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) [Radical Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical-transformation-1536505/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) [Trauma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trauma/) [Trauma Prepares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trauma-prepares-5163671/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way of living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-living/) ## Related quotes > [“Breakdowns create breakthroughs. Breakthroughs create more breakthroughs. More breakthroughs create friction because idiots be jealous or don’t get it or protect their little corner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/breakdowns-create-breakthroughs-breakthroughs-create-more/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [“Your breakdown is just a divine set-up for your breakout, which leads to an irrevocable breakthrough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-d-blackwell/your-breakdown-is-just-a-divine-set-up-for-your-breakout-which-leads/) [Hope D. Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-d-blackwell/) > [I believe it is possible that we can turn today's breakdown into a planetary breakthrough on one condition. We can do it if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-believe-it-is-possible-that-we-can-turn-today-s-breakdown-into-a/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [Every major difficulty you face in life is a fork in the road. You choose which track you will head down, toward breakdown or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/every-major-difficulty-you-face-in-life-is-a-fork-in-the-road-you/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [There is no breakthrough without a breakdown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/there-is-no-breakthrough-without-a-breakdown/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Our media, which is like a planetary nervous system, are far more sensitive to breakdowns than to breakthroughs. They filter out our creativity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-marx-hubbard/our-media-which-is-like-a-planetary-nervous-system-are-far-more/) [Barbara Marx Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-marx-hubbard/) > [Instead of me having a breakdown, I'm focusing on me having a breakthrough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrell-owens/instead-of-me-having-a-breakdown-i-m-focusing-on-me-having-a/) [Terrell Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrell-owens/) > [Psychological breakdowns are actually breakthroughs to enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/psychological-breakdowns-are-actually-breakthroughs-to-enlightenment/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [Yoga is the practice of radical transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-feuerstein/yoga-is-the-practice-of-radical-transformation/) [Georg Feuerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-feuerstein/) > [“The dream of radical transformation: of one day waking up and finding himself a wholly different (more confident, more serene) kind of person, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-dream-of-radical-transformation-of-one-day-waking-up-and-finding/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [This radical transformation of world power relationships reflects primarily in the case of both the USA and the USSR the growth of the productive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-browder/this-radical-transformation-of-world-power-relationships-reflects/) [Earl Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-browder/) > [How people watch and the different ways they connect to TV - you're going to see some expansion and radical transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-reilly/how-people-watch-and-the-different-ways-they-connect-to-tv-you-re/) [Kevin Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-reilly/) > [All thoughtful persons perceive that the ideas of the morality of sexual relations upheld by the religions and laws of the Western nations are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/all-thoughtful-persons-perceive-that-the-ideas-of-the-morality-of/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Once you say 'I want to find Truth', all your life will be deeply affected by it. All your mental and physical habits, feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/once-you-say-i-want-to-find-truth-all-your-life-will-be-deeply/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [“I appreciate many wonderful and brilliant discoveries made by humanity during the years of the Industrial Revolution. Yet, the radical transformation of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-boutenko/i-appreciate-many-wonderful-and-brilliant-discoveries-made-by/) [Victoria Boutenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-boutenko/) ## More by Cherrie Moraga > [Spirituality which inspires activism and, similarly, politics which move the spirit - which draw from the deep-seated place of our greatest longings for freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/spirituality-which-inspires-activism-and-similarly-politics-which/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [The nationalism I seek is one that decolonizes the brown and female body as it decolonizes the brown and female earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/the-nationalism-i-seek-is-one-that-decolonizes-the-brown-and-female/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [Smell remembers and tells the future. ... Smell is home or loneliness. Confidence or betrayal. Smell remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/smell-remembers-and-tells-the-future-smell-is-home-or-loneliness/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [The revolution begins at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/the-revolution-begins-at-home/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [“Fundamentally, I started writing to save my life. Yes, my own life first. I see the same impulse in my students-the dark, the queer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/fundamentally-i-started-writing-to-save-my-life-yes-my-own-life-first/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [The passage is through, not over, not by, not around but through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/the-passage-is-through-not-over-not-by-not-around-but-through/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [To assess the damage is a dangerous act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/to-assess-the-damage-is-a-dangerous-act/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [we have let rhetoric do the job of poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/we-have-let-rhetoric-do-the-job-of-poetry/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [In 1984, I turned to theater in the hopes of finding a more direct form of communication between me and my people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/in-1984-i-turned-to-theater-in-the-hopes-of-finding-a-more-direct/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [But it is not really difference the oppressor fears so much as similarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/but-it-is-not-really-difference-the-oppressor-fears-so-much-as/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [Oppression does not make for hearts as big as all outdoors. Oppression makes us big and small. Expressive and silenced. Deep and dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/oppression-does-not-make-for-hearts-as-big-as-all-outdoors-oppression/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [A writer will write with or without a movement; but at the same time, for Chicano, lesbian, gay and feminist writers-anybody writing against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/a-writer-will-write-with-or-without-a-movement-but-at-the-same-time/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [Third World feminism is about feeding people in all their hungers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/third-world-feminism-is-about-feeding-people-in-all-their-hungers/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [Our strategy is how we cope--how we measure and weigh what is to be said and when, what is to be done and how,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/our-strategy-is-how-we-cope-how-we-measure-and-weigh-what-is-to-be/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) > [I am the daughter of a Chicana and anglo. I think most days I am an embarrassment to both groups. I sometimes hate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/i-am-the-daughter-of-a-chicana-and-anglo-i-think-most-days-i-am-an/) [Cherrie Moraga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) [Explore all 17 Cherrie Moraga quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/) ## More Breakdown quotes > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [When Mom had her first nervous breakdown, she said she had a vision of Christ coming to her in the living room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spalding-gray/when-mom-had-her-first-nervous-breakdown-she-said-she-had-a-vision-of/) [Spalding Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spalding-gray/) > [By measuring the proportion of children living with the same parents from birth and whether their parents report a good quality relationship we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-duncan-smith/by-measuring-the-proportion-of-children-living-with-the-same-parents/) [Iain Duncan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-duncan-smith/) > [I myself am hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-myself-am-hell/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [The general public have a warped view of the speed at which an investigation proceeds. They like to imagine tense conversations going on behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-aaronovitch/the-general-public-have-a-warped-view-of-the-speed-at-which-an/) [Ben Aaronovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-aaronovitch/) > [I understand why creative people like dark, but American audiences dont like dark. They like story. They do not respond to nervous breakdowns and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-moonves/i-understand-why-creative-people-like-dark-but-american-audiences/) [Leslie Moonves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-moonves/) > [“The demand being made of me was to treat the breakdown as if fear and frustration were not a part of it, to act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-frank/the-demand-being-made-of-me-was-to-treat-the-breakdown-as-if-fear-and/) [Arthur W. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-frank/) > [No matter what, once in your life, someone will hurt you. That someone will take all that you are, and rip it into pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/no-matter-what-once-in-your-life-someone-will-hurt-you-that-someone/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [Everybody faces obstacles. And I looked to people who had been through many to succeed in life. Abraham Lincoln, born to a poor family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-winfield/everybody-faces-obstacles-and-i-looked-to-people-who-had-been-through/) [Dave Winfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-winfield/) > [Consider that all accomplishment is constituted by a series of resolved breakdowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-erhard/consider-that-all-accomplishment-is-constituted-by-a-series-of/) [Werner Erhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-erhard/) > [Yes, Jenna, I love you with all my heart. And with my atoms and molecules and electrons and whatever further breakdown you require.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/yes-jenna-i-love-you-with-all-my-heart-and-with-my-atoms-and/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [Every god is a jealous god after the breakdown of the bicameral mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-jaynes/every-god-is-a-jealous-god-after-the-breakdown-of-the-bicameral-mind/) [Julian Jaynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-jaynes/) > [Whether or not we can save Lake Michigan, whether or not we can avoid a breakdown in our criminal justice system are more important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-scott/whether-or-not-we-can-save-lake-michigan-whether-or-not-we-can-avoid/) [Bill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-scott/) > [Distance cannot kill this relationship. Time cannot breakdown anything we have. This is a relationship that I am ready to sacrifice and stand up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-cannot-kill-this-relationship-time-cannot-breakdown-anything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's unthinkable not to love -you'd have a severe nervous breakdown. Or you'd have to be Philip Larkin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/it-s-unthinkable-not-to-love-you-d-have-a-severe-nervous-breakdown-or/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) [Browse all 385 Breakdown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakdown/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes a breakdown can be the beginning of a kind of breakthrough, a way of living in advance through a trauma that prepares you for a future of radical transformation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cherrie Moraga" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginning-of-a-kind-of-breakthrough/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breakdown" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginning-of-a-kind-of-breakthrough/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/cherrie-moraga-30761_breakdown_sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginni_1442135.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/cherrie-moraga-30761_breakdown_sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginni_1442135.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/cherrie-moraga-30761_breakdown_sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginni_1442135.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes a breakdown can be the beginning of a kind of breakthrough, a way of living in advance through a…” — Cherrie Moraga", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cherrie Moraga", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherrie-moraga/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes a breakdown can be the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginning-of-a-kind-of-breakthrough/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherrie-moraga/sometimes-a-breakdown-can-be-the-beginning-of-a-kind-of-breakthrough/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```