--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes the only way to become grounded…" description: "\"Sometimes the only way to become grounded is to hit bottom.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/mason-cooley-92_bottom_sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounde_2656689.png" --- # Sometimes the only way to become grounded is to hit bottom. ![“Sometimes the only way to become grounded is to hit bottom.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/mason-cooley-92_bottom_sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounde_2656689.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/mason-cooley-92_bottom_sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounde_2656689.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/mason-cooley-92_bottom_sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounde_2656689.png) > “Sometimes the only way to become grounded is to hit bottom.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hitting rock can ground you, providing a stable foundation for growth. **In simple terms:** Bottoming out can ground you. Key Takeaway Use setbacks as grounding points. Themes growth resilience grounding Mood hopeful steady Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - career failures - financial loss - personal crises Key Concepts psychology self‑help Questions to Reflect On - What has grounded you after a fall? - How can you turn setbacks into stability? A Different Perspective Not all lows lead to stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ladder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladder/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [When I go home, its an easy way to be grounded. You learn to realize what truly matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-stewart/when-i-go-home-its-an-easy-way-to-be-grounded-you-learn-to-realize/) [Tony Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-stewart/) > [“Level, is spelled the same forward and backwards. Those on the upper level can always hit the bottom, and those on the bottom can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/level-is-spelled-the-same-forward-and-backwards-those-on-the-upper/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [My mom is always telling me it takes a long time to get to the top, but a short time to get to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/my-mom-is-always-telling-me-it-takes-a-long-time-to-get-to-the-top/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Everything in God's store is on the bottom shelf...you have to get on your knees to get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/everything-in-god-s-store-is-on-the-bottom-shelf-you-have-to-get-on/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb than in the middle of some ladder you don’t, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/better-to-be-at-the-bottom-of-a-ladder-you-want-to-climb-than-in-the/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Many, many steeples would have to be stacked one on top of another to reach from the bottom to the surface of the sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/many-many-steeples-would-have-to-be-stacked-one-on-top-of-another-to/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > [The main thing is to try to put in your head that we all start from the bottom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/the-main-thing-is-to-try-to-put-in-your-head-that-we-all-start-from/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [You just don't know when you can find the bottom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lynch/you-just-don-t-know-when-you-can-find-the-bottom/) [Peter Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lynch/) > [Initially, it was about kids at the bottom rung of the social ladder, due to their looks and their class background. But they're also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mckay/initially-it-was-about-kids-at-the-bottom-rung-of-the-social-ladder/) [Jim McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mckay/) > [No man can climb the ladder of success without first placing his foot on the bottom rung.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cash-penney/no-man-can-climb-the-ladder-of-success-without-first-placing-his-foot/) [James Cash Penney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cash-penney/) > [The only way you can stay on top is to remember to touch bottom and get back to basics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/the-only-way-you-can-stay-on-top-is-to-remember-to-touch-bottom-and/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [The realism of failure, the romance of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-realism-of-failure-the-romance-of-success/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Placing the extraordinary at the center of the ordinary, as realism does, is a great comfort to us stay-at-homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/placing-the-extraordinary-at-the-center-of-the-ordinary-as-realism/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-girard/the-elevator-to-success-is-out-of-order-you-ll-have-to-use-the-stairs/) [Joe Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-girard/) > [It's sort of the American way to go up and down the ladder, maybe several times in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/it-s-sort-of-the-american-way-to-go-up-and-down-the-ladder-maybe/) [Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Bottom quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Filmmaking, like sex, isn't a polite enterprise. It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/) [James Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-woods/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I plead with my Moonlight fans to give this show a chance if they let me give it a chance. I can’t do Moonlight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-o-loughlin/i-plead-with-my-moonlight-fans-to-give-this-show-a-chance-if-they-let/) [Alex O'Loughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-o-loughlin/) > [Well, the bottom line is that I'm extremely pleased with 'The Stupids.' I'm pleased that it's coming out, and it should look good. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-landis/well-the-bottom-line-is-that-i-m-extremely-pleased-with-the-stupids-i/) [John Landis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-landis/) > [Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/search-for-the-seed-of-good-in-every-adversity-master-that-principle/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I would have had a clause in my contract; I would've definitely put some fine print in my contract that said, "If the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-budden/i-would-have-had-a-clause-in-my-contract-i-would-ve-definitely-put/) [Joe Budden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-budden/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [When I hit bottom, I can attack the problem and get to where I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-rodman/when-i-hit-bottom-i-can-attack-the-problem-and-get-to-where-i-want-to/) [Dennis Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-rodman/) > [If I had lost the popular vote but won the electoral college and in my first day as president the intelligence community came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-had-lost-the-popular-vote-but-won-the-electoral-college-and-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The bottom line, in the professional level, no matter where you go, there's going to be competition. That's what it is. At the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-tolzien/the-bottom-line-in-the-professional-level-no-matter-where-you-go/) [Scott Tolzien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-tolzien/) > [Life is a climb and it's a struggle getting to the top but the drop to the bottom can be quick and so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/life-is-a-climb-and-it-s-a-struggle-getting-to-the-top-but-the-drop/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-garagiola/one-thing-you-learned-as-a-cubs-fan-when-you-bought-you-ticket-you/) [Joe Garagiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-garagiola/) > [The political satirist usually votes against their own interests, but the bottom line is that it doesn't really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-winstead/the-political-satirist-usually-votes-against-their-own-interests-but/) [Lizz Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-winstead/) Browse all 2,558 Bottom quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes the only way to become grounded is to hit bottom.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mason Cooley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounded-is-to-hit-bottom/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bottom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounded-is-to-hit-bottom/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/mason-cooley-92_bottom_sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounde_2656689.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/mason-cooley-92_bottom_sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounde_2656689.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/mason-cooley-92_bottom_sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounde_2656689.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes the only way to become grounded is to hit bottom.” — Mason Cooley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mason Cooley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes the only way to become...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounded-is-to-hit-bottom/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/sometimes-the-only-way-to-become-grounded-is-to-hit-bottom/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```