get back up again

get back up again

"How you speak to yourself will have a direct correlation to how you communicate with others." (and the success and happiness you have in life) -Steve Shenbaum

Three years ago, I wrote a tip called "Get Back Up." Right now it seems appropriate to say Get Back Up again.

Maybe it’s COVID, a tough start to the year, a goal that appears hopeless, you miss a connection with people, or have some other challenging circumstance going on.

Get back up again. You’ve done it before. Remember? It’s easy to forget, but you have. So do it again and again. Don’t stop yourself. Be intentional. Get uncomfortable and take action.

We are often our biggest obstacle, so it's time to get out of our own way. Don’t listen to that tiny voice on your shoulder. Listen to the voice in your heart—the voice that can tell you the real story. That you can do this, you are enough, and you have what it takes.

Don’t let limiting beliefs like self-doubt, fear of what others think, guilt, or fear of failure dictate the direction of your life. Instead, restore your thoughts and remind yourself of what you have accomplished. You didn’t get here by chance. You worked, you battled, and you made it this far. Keep getting back up.

We often compare ourselves to those that we think have it all together, that have the success we desire, and we believe those people have always experienced success. Wrong! They often have a lot of the same junk in their lives we do. They didn’t get there without failure. They got there because they kept getting back up after they failed. They talk to themselves differently.

"Stress, unhappiness, and anxiety are not always bad things … they are proof that everything is working … they come to us as messengers to point out that our lives our out of alignment." — Matthew Kelly

Where are you out of alignment? What do you need? What is one thing you’d change right now? Be intentional and make the time to think about that. Wipe out the old story, the limiting beliefs, and the reasons why you can’t like an Etch-A-Sketch. Yes, that dates me, but they work. They wipe the slate clean, so you can start fresh. Using the old pictures to learn from, but creating new ones that help you move forward.

If you are down, and we all get there at some point, it doesn’t have to be permanent. Get back up again. The best way to get truly comfortable in life is to lean into being uncomfortable and do what you know you need to do. Don’t wait for everything to get perfect; it won’t. Don’t wait for motivation; motivation happens when you take action.

For many of us, loss of connection is really hard right now. We stop ourselves because we wonder if others will want to connect. I believe most of us do; it just takes someone to be intentional and reach out. Yes, it can be uncomfortable, but nothing will change if you don’t take action.

Make a list of five people you want to spend time with. People who lift you up, you want to get to know, or can help you get to where you want to be in life. People who can help you win in life. Take action and reach out to them.

Another way to help you get back up is to help someone else get back up. Helping and serving others has a way of lifting you up also.

"This is your time" — Herb Brooks

 Recently, I was fortunate to hear Mike Eruizone speak. He was captain of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won gold. They were underdogs, maybe even below underdogs. No one gave them a chance. After they won the gold medal, people called it the Miracle on Ice. In his speech, Mike said it wasn’t a miracle; it was an accomplishment. They believed in themselves and believed in each other. The team had commitment, pride and heart, and they respected themselves.

Get back up again. Listen to that true voice in your heart. Respect yourself and what you want in this life. Have pride in that. Commit to taking action. Believe you can accomplish something, and you can.

Don’t stop yourself. Give yourself permission to go take action.

Your time is now.