Life is full of ups and downs, sometimes we win and other times we lose. In some cases, the loss is so hard that it drops you to the lowest level possible: rock bottom. It is the point where all the odds are stacked against you and your chances of recovery are slim to none. At rock bottom, you have no one but yourself to rely on. Unfortunately, through life's challenges, many of us will probably reach this level at some point in our lives. However, the experience of each and everyone will greatly depend on how we will perceive such hardship. Many of the most successful people who hit rock bottom before reaching their personal greatness describe their rock bottom as being the biggest opportunity of their lives. An opportunity to start over. Few people get the chance to rebuild their lives in a design that they love and approve of. Those who have hit rock bottom in their academics, entrepreneurship, career, love life or sports ambitions get the chance to do this. As matter of fact, this seemingly unfortunate times can be the best thing to happen to you. Here is why hitting rock bottom is beneficial for your future success.
Once you hit rock bottom, the only way left to go is up
Hititng rock bottom comes after a long period of free fall. It is a resounding crash that knocks you out and makes you doubt your reason for pursuing the path you chose. It is also a chance for redemption. Once you are at rock bottom, you can only go up. It is a point where you can perform some self-discovery, create a plan on how to achieve new goals and eventual success. Rock bottom has many sorrows attached to it. Thankfully, it can't get any worse. Rock bottom gives you an opportunity to draw a line between you and your past. It allows you to say, " The past is gone, the future beckons."
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You become humble
Your family, friends, collegues, relatives and even the society around you are able to see your fall and your state at rock bottom. Some can ridicule, pity, ignore or help you. This pricks your ego and you realize that you are not the giant you thought yourself to be. You don't know everything and you can also lose it all. As a result, you become humble. You treat others with compassion and consideration. You learn from them instead of striving to instruct them. This helps you to grow in character and eventually become a better person.
You can learn from reflection
While at rock bottom, you have the chance to reflect. This means that you can now look back at your past and judge how specific decisions turned out. There are special techniques that can help you to get back into the moment of a bad decision you made. Examples of these are the Gibbs Reflective Cycle and the Mindful Engagement Process. With the experience that you now already have, you can find out what went wrong and proceed to fix it. You can also find out what was the negative motivation which led to the series of bad decisions you made in you past. This form of reflection can help you to identify your mistakes so that you do not repeat them. It can also assist you to identify patterns of behavior or circumstances around you which contributed to your fall. With this information, you can make deliberate steps to rise again.
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Responsibility becomes an acquired trait
At the bottom, you realize that none but yourself caused your downfall. The drop to the bottom is a result of your decisions, actions and direction. Thus, you realize that it is important to be more responsible for your own life. Blaming others for your problems or circumstances turns out to be juvenile and illogical. You aspire to be in more control of your future when you hit rock bottom. This establishes a permanent condition of responsibility.
It becomes possible to finally find yourself
When you hit rock bottom, your ego and pride fall aside. This leaves you in your purest form of identity. You discover your most personal character traits. You find out who you are as a person with no need to impress anyone else. Hitting the bottom and losing it all helps you to see your weaknesses. You learn how to transform them into strengths or keep them as a symbol of your unique humanity. A heavy blow that sends you to the bottom allows you to see that you are imperfectly human. This gives you a shot of freedom and confidence in your future success.
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You can rebuild your confidence
When you hit rock bottom, you have a chance to reconstruct yourself in the way that you desire. You can create an image of yourself which is authentic and makes you proud. To achieve this, you need to surround yourself with supportive individuals. These can be your family, your friends or colleagues. After you do this, you can then create short-term wins. These are achievable and bound to build your confidence with every accomplishment. You can use professional guidelines such as Kotter International's 8-Step Model of Change in this process. With your new-found confidence, you can explore new frontiers, make risks that are calculated and become the best version of yourself.
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Every positive step you take from then on becomes a symbol of strength
We have seen movie stars, musicians, sports figures and political icons make mistakes that threaten their careers. These mistakes cause them to get knocked down and lose most of what they have built for decades. The ones who rebuild and recover seem to stand much taller after their fall than before. The scars of battle are worn proudly. Moreover, they are able to make quick progress because every step that they take in a positive direction is a show of strength and recovery. Therefore, hitting rock bottom can actually be a source of strength as long as you retain belief in yourself.
The Important Take Away
Hitting rock bottom may seem like the end. However, it can actually be a promising beginning. By viewing it from the various perspectives indicated above, you can turn this stressful times into a glorious victory. Never give up on your hopes and dreams, use them as fuel to rise stronger, wiser and more committed to your ambitions and goals than ever before.
