All Is Lost

John Bradley "JJ" Jackson

25 Sep 2025 • 2 min read

We’ve all been there. Job loss, a startup collapse, the end of a relationship. In those moments, it’s easy to feel like everything is broken beyond repair. The voice in your head whispers: all is lost.

I know that voice well. Back in the early 2000s, when the dot-com bubble burst, my billion dollar employer in the public capital markets space imploded almost overnight. To me, it felt like my career had gone up in smoke. But looking back, that “end” opened doors I never would have imagined which included starting my own company, college teaching, and eventually becoming an angel investor. Different, yes. But better in ways I couldn’t have foreseen.

Psychologists call this negative mindset a cognitive distortion defined as an irrational way of interpreting events that feeds despair. The “all is lost” narrative is fueled by:

All-or-nothing thinking: If it’s not a win, it must be a total failure.
Catastrophizing (is that a word?): Imagining the absolute worst-case scenario and treating it as fact.
Over-generalization: One setback means “I’ll always fail.”
Learned helplessness: Feeling powerless to change even when opportunities exist.

These thought patterns aren’t truths. They’re mental traps.

The good news? You can challenge the “all is lost” mindset. Here are a few simple ways:

Question your thoughts. If a friend told you the same story, would you believe them or help them see another angle?
Show yourself compassion. You wouldn’t call a loved one a “total failure,” so why say it to yourself?
Start small. Pick one achievable step forward. Progress builds momentum.
Stay present. Mindfulness helps quiet the spiral of “what-ifs.”
Lean on others. Friends, mentors, and peers can remind you of possibilities you can’t see yet. At this moment, your close friends are needed most. These are the ones which you feel comfortable with full disclosure of your feelings.*
Seek guidance. Professionals and structured approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help re-frame the narrative.

Different does not mean all is lost. The truth is, “all is lost” is rarely accurate. What feels like collapse today may be the very foundation for something new tomorrow. My own career shift after the dot-com crash is proof of that.

So when you hear that voice again, pause. Remind yourself: this isn’t the end of the story. It’s just the start of a different chapter.

*Note to self: continue to make new friends and stay in touch and invest time with existing ones.