Learn in Low Points

For all the amount of time there is sunshine and blue skies there is time in the shadows amongst the stars. For every moment of elation, there is the comedown. Every climb to the mountaintop is followed by the descent to the bottom. Life has failures. Life has spots to learn. Life has spots to grow. Life has many opportunities and offers chances for redemption. It is in the low spots and low points of life when we are stripped of motivation, accolades, and external belief, where we are offered the chance to learn the most about ourselves. Everyone knows everything when things are going well. It takes the challenges of ground zero to pick up the pieces and see what we are made of. The low points are not enjoyable but it is in the low points where we learn the most about ourselves.

Embracing the darkness that comes from the low points is how we can grow and learn the most. Without everyone supporting us, without the attention on what we are doing, and without success at every choice, we encounter the stark reality that all we have is ourselves. We are uniquely alone, bare—almost naked, as we try and pick ourselves up. In this process, we realize exactly what we are made of. We realize what gets us out of bed each day. We realize what keeps us going when everything else seems to be tearing us down. The low points showcase who we are as individual beings. We are able to learn more about ourselves in short intense periods of the negative than ever would be possible in sustained periods of light.

Learning in low points is not the easy decision. After days of failure, days of sadness, and days of starting over, there is very little motivation to keep going. When everything around us is screaming at us to throw in the towel and quit, that is the easy decision—the comforting decision. Learning in the face of despair is not the normal choice, it is uncomfortable, but the knowledge flows once we commit to this option. We need to embrace the low points not for how they make us feel, but for the realizations choosing to learn during them brings to us. Knowledge is all powerful and we learn more about ourselves in these moments than in almost every other situation. By learning in the low points we are not only specifically choosing to better ourselves, we are actively pushing to become more durable, resilient, and ready for the next time life throws us a curveball. Choose to learn in the low points and see how quickly you emerge from the depths and soar to new heights.