I’ve had times of my life where I was so depressed, I wanted to just hide away from the world and just give up as it kept moving forward.
I watched my Lexus GS 350 disappear. I saw that I no longer had trust from my investors. I saw that my job was basically ended. I didn’t know what I was going to do to pay rent on a 2,600 square foot loft in Los Angeles.
I only knew one thing. I was going to lose it all.
All I did each day was hide in my home, drinking incessantly. I watched movies on my projector to block out the actuality of what was really occurring in my life. I refused to answer phone calls and talk to people because I was so depressed that I was going to end up homeless. I was ashamed of myself and who I had become, and I just wanted to vanish from the world.
Then I lost it all.
It took me a lot of time to recover, however this is what helped me the most.
I got eight hours of sleep a day.
I ate well.
I exercised.
I thought of everyone I was grateful to have in my life. I even let some of them know I was grateful.
I forgave everyone who wronged me. This process took me years to accomplish.
I helped everyone when and where I could, without expecting anything in return.
I started living in the now, as opposed to the past or the future.
I gave up on my expectations and realized that life would just come as it may.
Then things turned around in my life. Everything got better. I was happier. I was able to wake up with smiles and feelings of happiness, instead of being a self loathing mess. Now I feel more fulfilled than I ever have before.
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Originally posted on Quora.
Leonard Kim consults startups and writes books like The Etiquette of Social Media: How to Connect and Respond to Others in the World of Social Media