“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” ― J.K. Rowling

How strong is your foundation?

There is something so comforting about the pain of getting under cold showers, at its peak, the worst part is over; when there are no more surprises. Now the only way to go from here is towards warmth.

Having hit rock bottom multiple times so early, teaches you something. Now, too many smooth experiences worry me, what if it all softens me to the extent of mush? There is a strange high in the tiny gap of moments when the big overwhelm of pain is over, you can stop gritting your teeth, and squinting your eyes, you breathe, and then you feel unbeatable. There is some power to it, I must say- that sudden rush between two ends of a spectrum.

This could be why the concept of anti-fragility makes so much sense. You don't just bounce back from tough experiences (that would be resilience). With every battle, you thrive, so much so that you need those struggles to help you grow, and maintain that strength (Meet Anti-fragility).

The perks of rock bottoms are few but not non-existent. For one thing, it cannot get worse than this, and you survived. Maybe not thrive right away, but it's been handled. Done is better than perfect. The more such instances, the more you graduate from resilience to antifragility. After a point, you crave that edge, to just see if you could take that fall.

There is also another spin to it, the not-so-appealing one. Research says, The more you thrive in certain conditions, the more you want similar experiences because it feels normal. Even if it’s horrible. Don't even get me started on Stockholm syndrome. There is a strange familiarity with fear, anxiety, chills, and challenges. You have no option but to make do with sudoku puzzles, horror movies, and cold showers. Because your brain needs it to function. But that aside, it's a great foundation to have, ample freedom to do anything.

Replace breaking the rule with hitting a dead-end:

“You have these lines you won’t cross. But then you cross them. And suddenly you possess the very dangerous information that you can break the rule and the world won’t instantly come to an end. You’ve taken a big, black, bold line and you’ve made it a little bit gray. And now every time you cross it again, it just gets grayer and grayer until one day you look around and you think, There was a line here once, I think.”
― Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six

When done, you wouldn't want it any other way, you’d trade this for no comfort, these HIIT sessions of the brain. To those currently at that deep end, in despair, not knowing which way to go, let the truth be known- what's coming to you is called strength, and what's gonna wash over you soon is called relief, because, after you have mastered the art of being anti-fragile (which you naturally will), your only way is UP where warmth awaits!