We all fear hitting rock bottom. For many, ‘rock bottom’ is associated with loss. Whether it is the loss of a job, loss of identity, of home, of friends, or family, rock bottom is all about being at your wits end. We are so afraid of that feeling that we stick with comfort and security, and possibly lose sight of who we really are. We are stuck in a routine that we don’t necessarily enjoy, all in the hopes of avoiding that intimidating ‘rock bottom’.
We are held back by old perceptions of the American dream, of what it really means to be happy. We are blocking ourselves from creating the life we’ve always wanted to live. See, we think we can avoid hitting rock bottom by doing exactly what we were taught. We need to find a job, move up the ladder, get married, have 2.5 kids, and settle down in the suburbs. But that is not how life works.
Take your job for example. Many end up staying at a job that they don’t like and end up doing poorly in just because of an inner fear of not finding anything better. This will worsen the quality of your life and will take a toll on your mental health. The stress, the disappointment, the exhaustion, are just some of those unhealthy feelings.
When we are stressed and feel stuck, we search for possible outlets. A very popular escape is shopping. The more this will go on, the more you will spend on things you don’t really need and actually damage that perfect life everyone expects you to live. By keeping that unsatisfying job, you spend more, practically damaging your fortune, a key part of the so-called American dream our teachers and parents taught us. This dream belongs to a different generation. Our environment changed, our world changed.
We tend to envy people who live the life we always wanted to live, but were held back by that fear of rock bottom. But that jealousy is, in its core, hate. It is hatred that we hold towards ourselves. We are mad that we allowed the fear of rock bottom to control our actions, to take over our lives. On top of that, we prevent ourselves from growing and pursuing our own interests. We are so fixated on living by others’ expectations of us and our lives that we forget to live for ourselves.
It’s important to note that you might feel like you are being ungrateful when in reality you’re just unhappy. You need to follow your wishes and aspirations, you need to achieve that freedom you dream of.