I have a good friend going through a tough time right now. He’s just recently suffered a big loss, and despite putting out a strong front to the world, I know he is struggling mightily.
“I suck at this,” he says. Followed by “I feel so broken.”
I get it. We’ve all been there.
And then today, as I write this, I had a big business setback myself. A project I was counting on fell through at the very last minute.
“How could this have happened to me,” I yelled out loud earlier today, within earshot of my poor wife who had no choice but to listen to my frustrated rant.
I’m feeling pretty blue as a result. This despite the fact that at this very moment in my life, I’ve never been happier, I’ve never felt more optimistic, and the growth track with my business remains overwhelmingly positive.
But setbacks and losses still suck. They still hurt. A lot. And it’s easy to fall into a tailspin as a result.
Here is what I am learning: Setbacks are a regular part of life. As much as you don’t want them to happen, they do. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE IN THIS MATTER.
And instead of curling up in the fetal position, or venting through loud vocal obscenities and rage like I do, foolishly, you have to suck it up and move on.
As a new friend of mine says, you have go forward, “Always Forward.”
Business and life is uncomfortable. It just is. If you expect it to be smooth and easy, you’ll be disappointed.
But it is moving forward, picking yourself back up, taking one step forward at a time = THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP GOING.
You know this, even if you are unwilling to admit it.
All the great ones do this. You can too. I can too. And I have to, for people are counting on me.
Life is uncomfortable. And it always will be. You have no choice but to accept that, and take that on as a personal challenge, and embrace it.
The Sun will come up tomorrow, the clock will keep ticking, dust will keep going through the hourglass, and you’ll still be there…
The question is will you be wallowing in it and sucking on your thumb? Or will you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move forward…Always Forward?
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- Tom Peters: The Excellence Dividend: The Interview! - May 21, 2018
- Simon Sinek: Playing the infinite game - April 6, 2018
- 10 alternatives to thinking outside the box - March 15, 2018
So I have this rotten disease that has already interfered with every scope of my life. Right after being diagnosed my Dad died, my in-laws died and finally so unexpectantly my husband called me to come home to tell me he has Acute Leukemia. I treated this like all of the rest, you just deal and go forward. A year later ten days before our twenty seventh wedding anniversary he died. It literally sucked the air from me. My disease took it’s first hospital time relapse. Hospitalized for three months. Permanently retired. Sold my house in Ohio and moved back to Illinois to be with my Mom. The disease has continued to have a regular. Pissing contest with me. Three more hospitalization so for months. One night Mom had a stroke right in front of me. Luckily she survived and has recovered fairly well but at 78 yrs she now has a mild case of dementia. One day a friend of mine said, “Darn Girl! You sound like Job in the Bible.” And so she was right. I’ve had a therapist say to me “I have no idea how you keep pulling yourself out of the bed when we come in the room for therapy. We feel so sorry for you!” Whhhat? How could I not get up and go forward? My Mom needs me. My extended family needs me and so do the friends I know and so many I have but have never met. ALWAYS FORWARD? You ask? What are you talking about? Get your butt up! Pray to your Higher Power for another glorious day. Find something to do.