When the Strongest Break

Per Aspera Ad Astra

I wrote this on my way out of despair. It helped me climb out of the pit. Reading it back and changing the odd word I can still feel how I felt when I wrote it, and more than anything I have published so far I hope that this helps someone.

Even the strongest materials break under relentless tension. So why would people be any different?

I've got my flaws but giving up isn't one of them.

I'm the one who never quits, I always find a way. But this time my skill set wasn't enough. My agency only took me so far. I was presented with a challenge that determination alone couldn't conquer.

Admitting I had reached my limit felt like faliure.

I inadvertently built my personality around solving other people's problems but found I was powerless to solve my own.

I knew I needed help but I didn't know where to turn.

That's when I faced my breaking point.

I was beaten, I was broken but I would soon realise it was the first step to rebuilding.

Reaching my breaking point didn't define me, it refined me.

Resilience isn’t about always knowing the way.

It's about not giving up when you feel lost.

It's about holding on when you're hanging by a thread.

It's about just getting out of bed on a morning. Especially then.

Everyone has a breaking point. I hope you never reach yours. But if you do: Realise it. Relish it. Remember it.

The helplessness, the hopelessness, you'll never forget that feeling.

It becomes your fuel.

It sharpens your instincts.

It reminds you how far you've come.

It's a barometer that lets you see the pressure building in real time so you can see the storm coming in advance, then you can prepare accordingly.

If you've flirted with rock bottom:

You are still here.

You know what you are capable of.

You know your limits.

You know when to call the cavalry.

You know that you can get through it.

You know you will get through it.

Per aspera ad astra - Through adversity to the stars