The Comeback Code: Turning Rock Bottom Into Your Rise

There comes a point in every high achiever’s journey where things simply stop working.
The strategy that once flowed feels forced. The motivation dries up. The energy shifts.

And sometimes, it’s not just a plateau, it’s a complete collapse.

Your business dips. Your confidence cracks. Life unravels in ways you never saw coming.

It’s in those moments that we find out what success is really made of.

When Everything Falls Apart

Most people imagine success as a straight upward climb, but those who’ve truly built something meaningful will tell you otherwise.

Real growth is cyclical. It expands, contracts, expands again.

And when you hit rock bottom, you face a choice.
You can spiral into self-doubt and fear, or you can decide, however small that first step might feel, that this is not where your story ends.

That single decision changes everything.

You might still be grieving, uncertain, or exhausted, but when you decide to rise, you shift your energy from victim to creator. You begin to write the comeback story before you even know how it ends.

The Power of a Decision

Deciding to rise doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine. It means acknowledging the truth of where you are, while holding a higher vision for what’s possible.

It’s saying, I may not have the answers, but I’m not giving up.

I’ve seen this countless times in entrepreneurs and leaders who hit their lowest point and then, almost quietly, choose to begin again. There’s no big announcement. No dramatic relaunch. Just a subtle, grounded decision to keep going.

That decision is more powerful than any strategy. It’s what reactivates your drive, reconnects you to purpose, and begins to shift your circumstances from the inside out.

Your Mess Becomes Your Message

One of the greatest misconceptions in business is that credibility comes from perfection.
It doesn’t. It comes from lived experience.

When you’ve faced heartbreak, failure, or complete burnout and then found your way back, you hold something far more valuable than a polished success story. You hold wisdom.

Your challenges don’t make you less of a leader. They make you human. They make you relatable. And when you’re brave enough to share those lessons, you give others permission to rise too.

Vulnerability in leadership isn’t weakness, it’s integrity.

The Real Comeback Code

Here’s what I’ve learned, both personally and through countless conversations with powerful women in business:

Comebacks aren’t built on motivation.
They’re built on discipline, clarity, and support.

They begin with micro decisions; to get up, to breathe, to focus, to ask for help, to do one thing that shifts the energy.

Then they grow through consistency. Through doing the work even when the outcome isn’t instant.

When everything feels uncertain, structure becomes your safety net. Gratitude becomes your anchor. And the people you surround yourself with become the mirror that reflects back who you’re becoming, not who you were.

Why We Must Normalise the Lows

I believe we need to normalise talking about the lows just as much as we celebrate the highs.

Because if we don’t, we perpetuate the illusion that success should always feel smooth and it never does.

There are seasons of building and seasons of breaking. Both are essential.
Every setback carries the seed of the next stage of your evolution.

When you begin to see your struggles not as detours but as initiations, you reclaim your power.

You stop asking, Why is this happening to me? and start asking, What is this teaching me?

That is the true comeback code.

Your Next Chapter

If you’re in a dip right now, start small.

Find five things to be grateful for each morning. Create a routine that steadies you.

Get back into rooms that raise your energy.

And remember, you’re not starting over, you’re starting from wisdom.

For a deeper exploration of this idea, listen to my Born To Be Brilliant® podcast episode “The Comeback Code: Turning Rock Bottom Into Your Rise.”

In that episode, I speak with Tara Punter, a business mindset coach whose story is a living example of what it means to rebuild from the ground up.
It’s a powerful conversation about courage, resilience, and what it really means to rise.