Our greatest personal breakthroughs in life often come from what we label as our problems. Many problems bring us to the breaking point or rock bottom where the pain of living the way we are is too great. What is rock bottom for one person is different than what it is for someone else. Rock bottom for one person might be becoming homeless, dealing with an addiction, getting arrested, going to prison, losing your job, filing for bankruptcy, filing for divorce, enduring an illness, being physically or verbally abused one too many times or deciding to leave an unfulfilling relationship. At rock bottom, it might seem hopeless, lonely and dark. We might hit rock bottom once or many times. What really happens after a person hits rock bottom? Does life really get better?
Being pushed to the breaking point or rock bottom by our problems gives us one of life's greatest gifts. We may experience a great deal of pain, but we are on the path to discovering and getting much more out of life than we ever could have without facing this problem. It was as if the problem was birthing us toward a new life--a greater life and a stronger sense of who we are. Hitting rock bottom was the long, difficult labor that we had to go through to birth a new life. All the pain that lead up to hitting rock bottom was the discomfort of the old life dying unwillingly and the new life growing within us. Hitting rock bottom was really a cue that the new life was ready to be born except we did not realize it at the time. Now we have a new beginning with new possibilities.
Hitting rock bottom is both an ending and a beginning. We must learn to trust that being at rock bottom is not our permanent station in life. We will see the light again through the darkness. We must allow whatever needs to come an end to do so without resistance. The more we resist, we are holding off the birthing of something new within our lives. With rock bottom, there are no rules. We can hit and stay at rock bottom for a short time or an extended time period. Often, we unknowningly extend our time at rock bottom because we are unable to admit that we have outgrown something. We try to desperately cling to whatever needs to end. We ignore all the warning signs within us that are telling us that it is time to let whatever go and open ourselves up for what is next for us. The more willing we are to let go of whatever needs to end without resistance, then we are moving with the flow of life.
When I finally admitted to myself that I had accomplished all that I could as a program director in the public health field, my conclusion represented rock bottom for me. Unfortunately, I was too afraid and confused about what action to take which only prolonged my stay at rock bottom. I had believed that public health would be my lifelong career, so I was not ready to think about what was next for me. When I realized that the longer I continued to stay in public health that I was hurting myself, then I knew that the fear of leaving and moving into the unknown was much less than the pain of staying in that career. I had truly went as far as I could go on that path. It was a painful ending for me.
The problem, which has bought us to rock bottom, is about to create a new opening in our lives filled with unimaginable possibilities. When we hit rock bottom, we have no choice except to start over. We can no longer deny the truth that we cannot go on any longer on the path that we are on. We realize that we have nothing to lose by starting over since there is not very much useful left in where we are. Rock bottom seems to give us the courage to accept change. Once we are open to a new path, new possibilities unfold before us. We begin the process of rebuilding our lives in a new, empowering way. We expose ourselves to new ideas and new people that help us see that more is possible than we ever thought before. We cannot go back to living and thinking about ourselves the way we did before. The old way is too small for us now--we have outgrown it. The circumstances that sent us to our rock bottom has also sent the message that we had outgrown our lives long ago and that it was time for a new beginning. Now our minds and hearts are open to hearing the signal to change and grow to a new level.
Once I left my public health career, a new way of living was emerging for me. I was much more open to consider greater possibilities for myself. I was no longer willing to work in any career that I did not truly like or believe in just to earn a living. I realized that I would have many different careers in my lifetime. I found the courage to look at what I really enjoyed doing as career possibilities. I envisioned myself as being a business owner for the first time instead of believing that I could only be an employee. Hitting rock bottom in my public health career put me on the path that I am on today. I would never have had the courage or even believe that I could be a writer, inspirational teacher, or speaker.
Once we commit to growing ourselves and our lives to a new level, life supports us in miraculous ways. Teachers and mentors show up in our lives. Helpful books fall into our hands. We unexpectantly bump into people with helpful ideas and find useful information. Life moves everything to support and help us along this new path. The key is paying attention to where Life leads you and follow those hunches without question. Our life is changing before our eyes. Before there was hopelessness, now there is hope. Joy and new enthusiasm for this new chapter in your life is replacing the pain of being at rock bottom. The mind is lighter and clearer with hopeful thoughts. The creativity is free and ready to pump out new ideas to support this new path.
Once I submitted my resignation, I noticed new opportunities opening up for me that would help me with my career change. I believe once I made the choice to let go of the career that I had outgrown, I could see what was open to help me reach the next path. I found free workshops and career counseling that truly helped me during the early days of my career change journey. I found new resources such as self help books, which really helped me.
Whatever comes into your life is a blessing, even if it causes you a great deal of personal pain and loss. You have a new opportunity to rebuild your life. Maybe, you were reluctant to close that chapter that you had outgrown, so circumstances came into your life to end that chapter for you. Now you no longer need to struggle with the decision to close the chapter. Instead you can grieve for what has ended and move on to creating the next chapter in your life.
Affirmations: I am reborn everyday. I am truly blessed.
Copyright©2009 Jeannine Robinson All Rights Reserved