The Unseen Tradeoff of Breakthroughs: Strong Baselines Matter More

Without strong baselines, breakthroughs can become an endless trap of chasing without fulfillment. Why? Because you will always fall to your current level of homeostasis. 

This principle doesn’t stop at systems or functional progress; it extends deep into your psychological and emotional life: if happiness eludes your current state of mind, it will continue to elude you even through mountains of achievement. You must learn how to cultivate it from the inside out. 

Ed Mylett refers to this as the thermostat effect. Imagine that every area of your life is governed by its own thermostat setting, such as emotional resilience, relational maturity, and financial wellness. 

You might be running at 60 degrees emotionally, can handle minor stress but crack under pressure; 80 degrees relationally, get along well with others but still yell at your kids; and 50 degrees financially, have learned how to generate money but are constantly in debt.  

But if you suddenly start running at 100 degrees, regardless of the area, you will eventually overheat. You will always fall back if you haven’t deliberately raised your baseline first. 

You might not fall all the way back; instead of 60 degrees emotionally, you fall to 65 or 70 because you have learned how to manage stress better and developed greater mental toughness.

However, this regression directly correlates with the lack of a strong baseline, a misalignment with the changes you were attempting to make, leaving you frustrated and dissatisfied. It’s for this reason that you need to stop worrying about breakthrough after breakthrough and start focusing on building a strong baseline, a true foundation to stand on. 

The Myth of Breakthroughs

You might question the use of ‘myth’ here, as you’ve undoubtedly experienced breakthroughs in your life, whether mentally, emotionally, or financially. But let’s distill this concept down to chasing breakthroughs versus facing change itself. Think of it as chasing the elixir of easy change to appease your current pain, rather than sitting in the fire of transformation.

The problem with breakthroughs isn’t that you don’t experience them, but rather that you usually haven’t built the foundation to fully support the breakthrough. This is where the strong baseline comes in: a development of resilience over time that allows you to withstand the full weight of change. 

How do I know this is necessary? Because I’ve experienced breakthrough moments, believing I had passed through the fires of change, only to be devoured by them again in the end. 

The Lack of Strong Baselines: My Personal Battle with Breakthroughs

There was a time when I was dealing with extreme depression and suicidal ideation, and then suddenly it was lifted. The depression was gone, and life seemed to explode within my chest. 

However, it wasn’t long before I was courting depression again, almost as if I were begging it to come home in some weird, twisted game that I didn’t understand how to play.  

Over time, it obliged. I soon found myself right back where I started, depressed with suicidal ideation. Not because I enjoy being depressed, but because I hadn’t built a strong baseline from which to operate. I hadn’t learned how to raise my level of thinking. So, when things got hard, I began to crumble.

My true breakthrough came when I learned how to overcome myself, my thoughts, my emotions, and the hidden patterns driving me into depression. I built a strong baseline, a foundation that could hold me steady during the storm. As the winds of depression waged war on my spirit, I stood firm: resolute, somber, yet fierce in my determination to overcome. That was when my true breakthrough moment happened. 

Why Breakthrough Alone Isn’t Enough: The True Role of Strong Baselines

Depression didn’t leave because I flipped a switch. It left because I understood how to play the game. 

This phenomenon of breakthroughs resulting in a fiery crash is a universal theme. We see emperors fall, kings crumble, politicians break, celebrities spiral, and even family members collapse, leaving them a shell of the person they once were.

The opposite is also true. We all know someone who has sunk to rock bottom only to defy the odds and transform themselves into a completely new person. Those breakthroughs are awe-inspiring.  

However, breakthroughs in and of themselves are not the issue. The issue is breakthrough obsession and glorifying peak moments. It’s feeling so desperate for change, to ease the hurt and pain, that you bypass the work that enables you to develop a strong baseline from which to stand or fight. Instead, you try to hop from mountain top to mountain top, hoping to outrun the pain rather than deal with it.

The Hidden Cost: How Big Pharma Profits from Bypassing Strong Baselines

This is why big pharma is so profitable when it comes to antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. According to Global Market Insights, the global antidepressant drug market was valued at $18.7 billion in 2024, with the U.S. accounting for $6.8 billion. By 2034, the market is expected to reach $37.9 billion. 

Many people claim relief from antidepressants, but many others don’t. The NIH noted that 50 out of 100 people who took antidepressants noticed improvement when compared to 30 out of 100 who took a placebo.

The issue here isn’t taking or not taking a drug; it’s that most people are attempting to bypass the dirty work of healing. After all, if you could just take a pill to magically make your life better, wouldn’t you choose that option over wrestling with your inner demons for control of your life? 

The Illusion of Quick Fixes: Why Shortcuts Rarely Deliver

It’s the same reason Ozempic use is soaring. Losing weight by taking a pill is much easier than losing weight by sweating it out in the gym over a long period. There’s no need to watch your eating habits or to start walking, running, and lifting weights as you gradually convert fatty tissue into muscle. 

The former may help in weight loss, but it won’t change the underlying systems that caused weight gain in the first place. The latter, on the other hand, will prompt both weight loss and a change to the underlying systems if you stick with it and don’t give up.

Again, the problem you encounter with any of these life changes, in our example: depression and weight loss, is developing the resilience to keep moving forward, regardless of the cost. No matter how tired and frustrated you may get. 

However, the breakthroughs you experience when you stick with it are Mount Everest-style breakthroughs. You reach the highest peak, and not only do you mount the summit, but you also build a camp, then a home, and eventually a community, because you have created a strong baseline to stand on. 

You’ve seen the promised land, and as a result, resolve yourself to never going back because you now know what heaven and hell feel like.

What Strong Baselines Are and Why They Matter

Strong baselines matter because these are what bring ultimate freedom. If we consider the idea of the magic pill or a quick fix, the result is usually temporary relief from the pain you’re experiencing. It does not offer lasting freedom. That comes when you decide to do the necessary work to bring about healing. 

However, our current societal model of breakthrough, in many areas, is to achieve the instantaneous results without addressing the underlying issues. This model consistently fails, but unfortunately, it's touted as the best option. Not because it is the best, but because it’s the easiest, and subsequently, the most profitable.

The first time I went to find relief from depression, I chose to go to the doctor to get a pill, thinking that would bring the relief I needed. He took notes and asked a few pointed questions as I sat on that crinkly white paper and told him how I was feeling. I was there for maybe 15 minutes before he wrote a script and sent me to another section of the hospital. Once there, I met with a woman who drilled me with questions for another 10 minutes before I could pick up the prescription. 

That was it.

There was no suggestion of therapy or any alternative solutions to consider. Just wam bam, good luck, here’s your pills and money flows into their pockets. I’m not blaming the doctors. They’re locked into a system that functions under the model of profits first, healing later. 

Why Relief Isn’t Enough: The Missing Work Behind True Healing

If that wasn’t the case, why can’t plant medicine seem to find the light of day, even in therapeutic settings? Studies are now showing that after one experience, symptoms can be drastically alleviated. This is a stark comparison to having to ingest a pill that starts working in six to eight weeks and generally requires you to continue taking it long term. 

So what happens? Well, Ketamine and MDMA trials ramp up because these are compounds that can be manufactured, and therefore provide more profits. However, they still confront the issue of relief after only a few sessions, whereas the antidepressants require long-term use.

It might sound like plant medicine is the obvious winner here, but here’s the problem. Even though plant medicine seems to yield a better outcome, without the underlying work of creating a strong baseline to live by, you eventually fall back into your old patterns of behavior. Your thermostat resets, and you find yourself back where you started. 

Four Foundations for Building a Strong Baseline

I’ve used depression here because it’s a hot topic. Mental health issues are on the rise, and it’s something I dealt with myself. You, on the other hand, may not have dealt with something like depression. But you have to ask yourself, what is it that you are dealing with and continually applying bandages to in an attempt to find relief? 

Is it burnout? Stress and anxiety? Bitterness or Resentment? Do you feel alone in the world, like you’re suffering in silence and no one knows the internal mental and emotional pain you experience? 

We all have something, but most of us look for a quick fix. Something to alleviate our symptoms to make life bearable. 

But why settle for bearable? Why not aim for complete freedom?

Freedom is possible. It comes in the form of developing strong baselines. 

Here are the four foundations you can use to start creating a strong baseline today.

Step One: Solid Habits

Create solid habits that empower you to take control of your life. They may start small at first, but you work on building them up over time. This could include activities such as meditation, exercise, or reading more. 

Step Two: Mental Frameworks

Mental frameworks are another aspect of this; they shape how you think and navigate life. Think about the idea of a fixed mindset vs. a growth mindset. Scarcity vs. abundance. Thought pattern recognition and reframing when you’re out of alignment. It’s becoming so aware of your thoughts (explored in more depth here) that you don’t let any pass your mind without your permission. If they do happen to pass, you catch them as quickly as possible. 

Step Three: Emotional Regulation

Learning to regulate your emotions, at every level, is paramount to creating strong baselines. Emotions aren’t always logical, and oftentimes don’t make sense. For instance, you can generate emotions through thought alone. You can think yourself into feeling happy, sad, or angry, even though the actual event itself isn’t taking place. It’s when you learn how to be the director of your emotions that freedom begins to enter your life. This is because you are no longer allowing yourself to be carried away by every whim of feeling without understanding where or why it’s there in the first place.

Step Four: Consistent Effort

This is both the easiest and the hardest part. It’s easy to be consistent; you simply repeat the pattern over and over again. It’s hard to be consistent because that pattern takes energy and can become boring very fast. You don’t see results as quickly as you’d like. As a result, you shift focus and start trying something else. Don’t do that. Stay consistent, and it will begin to pay off. 

When you put these four pieces together, you build an invisible upward power that creates steady momentum. It’s this momentum that shuttles you toward freedom from whatever hurt, pain, or strife you carry. It becomes a sustainable process that you cultivate over time. The more reps you put in, the easier it becomes, and when the storms start to rage, you have a solid foundation to stand on. 

Your Freedom is Built, Not Given

William Wallace didn’t free his fellow Scots by taking the easy route. He waged war, and it cost him his life. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. He sacrificed most of his adult life to stand up for justice before bringing freedom to his fellow countrymen. But the list doesn’t end there. There’s Mahatma Gandhi, Joan of Arc, George Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Sophie Scholl.

Men and women have fought for millennia to secure freedom for people around the world. Their battles were internal and external. They waged war in their minds and on the battlefield. Every step of the way was fraught with fear as they questioned their motives and resolve. Wondering if what they were fighting for was even worth it. 

We don’t remember them because they accomplished something great. No, we remember them because they overcame their inner demons. In doing so, they freed themselves and subsequently led movements that overcame their adversaries.

Your Silent Battle Matters More Than You Think

Your war may be internal. It may be silent, but it’s no less important. It’s of utmost importance because the life you live has a ripple effect, whether you can see it or not. Learning how to heal, to live from a place of wholeness, will inspire others to do the same, which in turn will inspire others. 

When you do your part to find healing for yourself, you change the system. If instead, you outsource your power to the system, searching for your ‘magic pill’, whatever it may be: antidepressants, winning the lottery, being promoted, or getting married, you set yourself up for failure. Without addressing your underlying issues, you fall prey to the idea that you don’t have what it takes. You don’t have the answers. The government does. Corporations do. Even your therapist becomes a crutch. 

You can use these systems to your benefit, but ultimate responsibility ends with you. That’s when healing happens. This is where true transformation takes place. 

As you move forward, keep working on the four steps mentioned previously. Start to incorporate them into your daily life. Don’t shoot for instantaneous change, but rather, shoot for consistency, and change will come knocking at your door. 

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Godspeed,

Josiah

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