Standing Up After Falling Down

Vince Lombardi said it best, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” I’ve heard this advice from a few people in my life and always thought this made sense but never truly understood it until I was in a position of truly falling down and standing up again didn’t seem so easy. The truth is, looking back on it now I see numerous times I have fallen down and have had the choice to sit down or stand up. Most of those times I kept my head held high and stood back up right away. A few of those times it took a little more effort and a little more of a push to stand back up. However, it’s the couple of times when it took time, a true struggle, and a strong push to stand back up that have made me who I am today.
Bad times teach us something. Even when we don’t feel like we’re learning anything in the moment (or months), eventually, we realize how much we’ve been taught through the struggle. There’s something to be said about moments when you feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. One thing I’ve learned is that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. It may not be the light you expect at the time and it may not be the brightest burning light, but it’s there. And once you reach that “light” at the end of the tunnel, whatever it is, you’ve got through the hardest part. Now you have the choice to take whatever that light is, small or big, and make it burn brighter, and have it fulfill your life in all the ways you need it to.
I think sometimes we have challenges we face that we never expect and we can’t imagine getting beyond. All our lives in business and life we’re taught that preparation is everything, and without it, you fail. So what do you do when something happens that you were unprepared for? How can you possibly succeed if you weren’t able to prepare?
These are the moments you may feel like a failure, but these are also the moments you have the chance to stand back up, start over, try again. Most of these moments’s preparation wouldn’t have helped you anyways. They are the things you can’t prepare for. The things you can’t wrap your mind around, the things you say, “That will never happen to me.” Well they did, it did, he did, she did………..so, what next?
I think back on all the advice I’ve received and this is honestly one of the best pieces. It happens all the time to people in all areas of life. It is the difference between being unhappy, scared, depressed, and/or stressed forever, or pushing forward onto the life you want to live with the success, love, happiness, fulfillment you want. So next time you fall down, feel free to allow yourself to feel the struggle, take the time in stride, and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel if you can just keep walking through it.