Stay Down
One of my favorite columnists writes what he calls "rules for failure". These are rules which, if followed, will ensure that we fail in life. I've been thinking about one of his rules: "If you get knocked down, stay down." We all get knocked down once in a while, we all suffer setbacks, we all face adversity. What counts is how we react. The choices are simple: We can stay down, refuse to make further effort and accept defeat or we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off as needed and try again. It doesn't take much thinking to see which choice gives us the best chance of success.
It's sometimes appealing to think about giving up. We're stunned by the blow that knocked us down, the obstacles on our path seem insurmountable, we grow weary of our efforts. We think that if we could only rest for a while we would be stronger, better able to proceed on our path. We fool ourselves into thinking that the obstacles will disappear if we can only outwait them.
These are traps. There's nothing wrong with rest; we all need rest periodically. But rest that comes after we've been knocked down usually doesn't restore us. In this circumstance, we only pretend to rest, we're hiding from adversity. The time to rest is when we're making regular progress, moving down the path. And the longer we wait to get up, to try to move forward, the harder it will become.
The only helpful response to being knocked down is to get up and try again. It may not be easy, we may have lost ground, we may have to increase our efforts. But the only way to progress, to achieve our goals in life, is to keep trying, to do the best we can to move forward. Accepting defeat, even for a moment, will ensure failure.
Never give up. If you're knocked down, get up and try again. It may be difficult, it may hurt, but you'll feel better soon when you notice that you haven't been defeated, that you're still moving forward, still helping yourself. And, as I so often say, by helping yourself, you'll make it possible to help others.
9-11-06
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