I have bounced back about 3–4 times in my life that I can recall vividly, putting my finger on exactly when and where the crash took place. The other times were either minor, or have blurred (mercifully) with time.
I think each crash and burn, like every person, is individual and unique. There are, however, some universal truths – as people’s psyche’s are not that different from one another. I don’t want to sound like a Dr. Phil – or prescribe things oft written about in self-help books ad nauseum, but I have found that there are certain mitigating similar factors which indeed had helped me to proverbially bounce back.
Whether it’s personal (divorce, death, loss of a close friend) or professional – one thing to do is to try to be a bit more objective about it. Talk to someone, if only to hear your thoughts out loud. Sometimes we internalize everything and don’t get the proper perpective on things. It might be far less than you imagined. Remember the old saying about the Chinese word for catastrophe and opportunity being one and the same? You should try to look forward and start thinking about what you will gain from this loss – for once the pain has subsided, there will be a gain. Without pain; we do not grow and learn.
If it’s professional, I suggest reading up a bit on the subject of why – why are you in a job that you are not successful at? Why aren’t you doing something about it? Why are surprised about being fired, and why didn’t you up and go before it happened?
Some required reading material would be Rick Ackerly and Sir Ken Robinson.
Ultimately, just as bad things happen to good people, so too do good people find themselves in bad circumstances both personally and professionally. The question is: whatcha gonna do about it?
Bottom line: learn from your mistakes, chin up, grow up and learn.