You wipe away your tears, breathe in deeply, exhale slowly. You feel hollow yet overwhelmed, as if you might burst. The questions haunt you: Why am I feeling like this? What’s the point? Is any of it even worth it?

The answer is simple: Yes, it is.

Lately, I’ve been struggling with some tough decisions I had to make, and it feels like I’ve been drowning in a sea of bad days. I couldn’t force myself to step outside, so finding the energy to do anything remotely meaningful felt impossible. This wasn’t the first time I’d felt this way, but until now, I couldn’t see any purpose in these dark moments.

Finally, I came to realize that “bad days” have a purpose, though it might not seem obvious in the moment. On those days, when life feels heavy and overwhelming, the best thing you can do is pause. Leave everything behind for a while, sit in silence, listen to your thoughts, and give yourself some time to reflect.

At 30, I never expected to be starting over. In my early 20s, I had a picture of what my life would look like by now—a stable career, meaningful achievements, a sense of accomplishment. But life rarely follows the script we imagine. Here I am, back at square one. Or am I? Maybe I’m not starting over at all. Perhaps I’m just continuing in a direction that’s truer to who I am.

For the longest time, I labeled my bad days as failures: Unproductive. Wasted. I saw them as black holes, sucking up time and energy with nothing to show for it. But over time, I came to realize they are so much more. We need bad days.

When I’m at my lowest, I question everything: Why am I doing this? Who am I? Who do I want to become? Only in these moments of discomfort I dig so deep, uncovering insights I might have ignored on a better day. I learn about myself and the life I’m building. I realize which things I want in life and which I need to get rid of.

Self-reflection thrives in these moments of vulnerability. It’s when I discover new paths, get new ideas, or make the tough decision to let go of things that no longer serve me. Bad days aren’t wasted—they’re incentive for growth.

In fact, those painful moments can be transformative. They are valuable part of life’s journey and perhaps even more crucial, because only when the pain is so intense inside we get the courage to make changes on the outside.

So now, I don’t think of bad days as a waste. They may be difficult, but they serve a purpose. They remind us to slow down, reflect, and recalibrate. Perhaps it’s time we start viewing our bad days with more compassion and curiosity. Instead of dismissing them, we should ask ourselves: What is this low feeling trying to tell me about my current life?