“The same wind blows on us all. The difference in arrival is not the blowing of the wind but the set of the sails.” – Jim Rohn
First off, it happens to all of us. A little too much life creeps up, blindsides us, and knocks us for a loop. It can be frustrating, disappointing and flat out scary! But the big question is “what do I do now?”
Getting knocked off the horse applies to so many areas; food, finances, relationships and fulfillment. Sometimes we wake up and realize we have fallen asleep on our “self”. We realize we have been neglecting our own health and happiness.
Here are a few simple guidelines that have turned my failures to empowering lessons and helped me personally reroute my course.
Acknowledge It
If you made a mistake, if you acted out of your own integrity; be honest and tell yourself the truth. You cannot change what you first don’t acknowledge and accept. In fact, trying to deny that something isn’t right, will only give it more power.
Stop Judging Yourself
We are so quick to beat up on ourselves that we aren’t where we “should” be. Relax. Take a deep breath. Life is long and it ain’t over. Stop living with judgment and regret.
Learn From It
It sounds cliché that “everything happens for a reason” but the truth is there are lessons to be learned more in failures than there are in successes. In fact, the most successful people you know are the ones that looked at failure as not something to avoid but something to learn from.
Fail often, fail quickly and learn from it. What did you learn from your last failure and how has it taught you to move forward? For more on failure read this article.
Try Again - Change Your Approach
If your last attempt at something didn’t work, try again with a slight adjustment.
Ever watch a little kid try to walk for the first time? They fall hundreds of times. But what we don’t see is that every time that baby tries walking, it creates new neural-pathways in the brain that are ever so slightly different. And then one day the baby walks, never judging himself, just having fun along the way.
Find Your Recipe
If we keep doing the same things over and over we are going to get the same results. Once you achieve the result you desire, be mindful of the pattern and recipe that helped you produce it. Find it, acknowledge it and repeat it.
Life can be challenging. It can be scary to get things started, and sometimes, even harder to keep them going. We all get thrown off course. it happens to the best of us.
How we get back on track, or create a new track is based on how honest we are with ourselves, how we interpret our failures, their lessons, and how we move forward from that point.
Now we want to hear from you. Was this post helpful, and if so, what was the biggest takeaway for you?
Yours in health,
Michael DeSanti