Note: This is an excerpt from “Break Free” by Dr. Paul Hardy (2017)
ROCK BOTTOM: The lowest level of lifestyle you have had, usually defined by poor choices. Tony Robbins once said there are two things that motivate people to make dramatic changes in their lives: inspiration and desperation. As crazy it might sound, there is actually tremendous power in hitting rock bottom or a low-point in your life. http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2010/08/24/the-power-of-hitting-rock-bottom/ (accessed 12/7/15)
Srinivas Rao is a personal development blogger/surfer who explores various life lessons inspired by riding waves at his blog, The Skool of Life. He’s also the host/co-founder of BlogcastFM, a podcast to help you take your blog to the next level. http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2010/08/24/the-power-of-hitting-rock-bottom/ (accessed 12/7/15)
If you are at a low point in your life, I encourage you to give some thought to why this could be a defining moment that completely changes the trajectory of your life. If you’re asking yourself “why am I in this situation?” Then you are setting yourself up for failure. You’re going to need to shift your focus and ask yourself the question “How can I use this opportunity to take my life to the next level?”. If you do that you’ll find that dramatic positive change is inevitable.
WHAT SHOULD YOU GET FROM ROCK BOTTOM?
A life-altering experience, a desire to never go back there . ..
CHANGE YOUR LANGUAGE. When you’ve hit rock bottom you know it. There’s no hesitancy or second-guessing. You have a firm, graphic visual burned into your mind. Anything less than this is secondary. Change your language from “I think it may have gotten as bad as it can,” to “I KNOW . . .”
REFRAME YOUR SITUATION: After defining rock bottom, you begin to maximize the consequences of your previous addictive behaviors. Exaggerate the ultimate results of what could have happened. From consequences, you reframe your future as a silver lining opportunity. Since you have lived through it all, you have something to give back
FACE YOUR WORST-CASE SCENARIO. Rao goes on to explain, “The beauty of hitting rock bottom is that you truly have nothing to lose. When you hear stories of homeless people spending their time in libraries and filling their minds with knowledge to eventually become millionaires, it makes you realize that you have tremendous power to change your life if you can just tap into it. The beauty of having nothing to lose is that it gives you the power to be completely detached from outcomes, one of the biggest things that gets in the way of accomplishing goals.”
BIG RISKS/BIG GOALS: With absolutely nothing to lose, you are in the in perfect position to take big risks and set big goals. When you are at a low point, then you have a tendency to really push the envelope of what’s possible. The byproduct is that we now live a life that is far better than what we had originally imagined.
What “Big Risks” could catapult your recovery?
