We all have low and high points in our life. These lower moments often define what’s possible depending on your willingness and courage to turn them into a positive or let them simmer as a negative. As we continually work through these temporary dips, we build confidence and pave the road for moments of enjoyment and meaningful accomplishments.

Low points are defined as that moment when the wind is entirely knocked out of you, where, for a brief second, you feel like there is no hope, you are tempted to give up, call it quits, and you are even close to using the word “failure.” The low points can be disheartening, upsetting, painful, embarrassing, frustrating, and entirely deflating. You need a moment to catch your breath. You wonder is this really happening or is it just a dream? Everyone has low points. You are not alone.

Low points could include:

Getting fired

Losing a major client

Losing a loved one

Getting injured or having a health issue

Teaching your first class as a certified yoga teacher and having a student leave early

Reaching your highest or lowest weight ever

Writing a book or movie and receiving bad reviews

Working on a new product for several years only to learn it’s already out

Starting a business and not making a profit

Ending a relationship

Feeling unfulfilled when you accomplish a major goal

Playing in a major athletic competition and having your poorest performance

Going through a divorce

Being overwhelmed by your debt…

These challenges, obstacles, and setbacks vary for each person, and what some may consider to be a “low point,” such as being fired (yes, I’ve survived this one too) or ending a relationship, may not be for someone else. We all deal with adversity differently. There’s no judgment. The real key is how you choose to respond to these potential setbacks and move forward.

The question to consider is what actions will you take to move past your “low point” and get back in the game? How long will you allow yourself to be sidelined?

The one thing that is similar for all low points is they place you at a crossroads in your life. Will you feel sorrow for yourself and decide that you can’t do something or will you rise up and develop Plan B? In this moment of uncertainty and frustration, you have a choice. It takes strength and faith to face these challenges and believe that you can move forward.

Resilient people use a low point to turn things around and make a change. So while one person gets fired from a sales job and decides he or she is not cut out for sales, another person finds a new sales role and this time buys several books and audio training tools to become a more effective salesperson.

Low points can happen in any area of your life. I recently experienced one of these moments in my tennis game. I was playing in the finals of the Doubles Championships at my club in Los Angeles in front of fifty people and serving at 4-3 in the third set. I proceeded to serve the worst game of my tennis career (and I’m not exaggerating), and we went on to lose the match. I was frustrated, deflated, and fed up. Two weeks later, I took action and started working with a tennis coach again, changed my serve technique, and practiced hitting buckets of serves (the serve can represent anything in your life that needs an attitude adjustment to get to your next level). After ten months of doing the work, I experienced a “high point.” While in Turkey this past March representing the USA at the World Championships, I was serving down 4-5 in the third set of the deciding doubles match against Spain, and we held my serve to win the match 7-6!

As you survive and even thrive after a low point that momentarily throws your life upside down, you start to believe in yourself and see new possibilities. Welcome your low points because they can lead to something wonderful in every area of your life.

For every low point, there is a potential breakthrough waiting for you!

I’d love to hear about a recent moment that you turned into a “high point!”

Alissa Finerman is a Professional Business/Life Coach, motivational speaker, and author of Living in Your Top 1%. She works with individuals and organizations to help them think bigger, redefine what’s possible, and get results. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has appeared on national radio stations such as CBS and Clear Channel Radio and has worked with the Milken Institute, LA Business Journal, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and NBC Universal. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

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*Featured image is a photo I took while in Turkey for the World Championships.