Observe how you feel when you are at your lowest. What thoughts come up? How do you treat yourself and talk to yourself? What do you believe at this time about other people and life in general?

Write it down and process when you are feeling lighter again.

You will learn a lot about your core beliefs. You will learn a lot about what is subconsciously holding you back when you are going for your goals.

It's ironic that we often don't feel our "hangups" when we are riding high on focus and momentum. In some sense, when we feel "good", we have less clarity about what is holding us back because we just go go go. But when we crash...when exhaustion, illness and/or tragedy strike...we seem to revert right back to our toxic core beliefs.

It's so frustrating especially when you feel that you have done the work, that you have paid your dues and have come so far from where you've been. Only to slide right back at warp speed to that insecure, scared, shameful old existence.

Take heart. All is not lost. You got information. Great information!

You now know where you are on the journey and the work you still need to do. You know what were the thoughts and feelings that helped you survive before. And now you get to decide if they are still relevant to today's struggle.

Don't resent your coping skills - any of them. Thank them for getting you through. And put your energy to new skills. Strive and practice more accurate beliefs anchored in the here-and-now.

In the long term, it makes your "go go go" happy, energized stages that much more authentic, relevant to your actual goals, and easier (so much easier!)

In every rough patch of this emotional life, you will gain as much from the downs as you will from the ups. Be in it when you're in it but never ever get stuck. Rise up again and again.