I recently faced defeat. I put my whole being into an endevour and when I didn’t succeed at my goal I felt as though I failed. After a bit of time feeling this way I decided that I had to make a change. I had to change how I felt because my goals still have to be achieved. But I’ve learned that emotions are a process. Once the mind makes a decision, the emotional aspect of that decision is something that can take time because you still remember what that failure/ defeat felt like. So when I decided to restore, I had to make my mind stronger than my emotions. And when one firmly decides to make a change, one is opened to finding different tools within day to day life to aide in that goal. I came across a few things that echoed my sentiments:
1. The quote: “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” -Maya Angelou
This reminded me that in this time in my life, it is important to not let mistakes or seeming failures (even repeated mistakes/ seeming failures) hold me back from continuing to strive in being consistent in exuding positivity and productivity and in simply, being better. I must not let failure bring me to a mind-space that “I will not be able to ever meet my goals.” And though I falter CONSTANTLY with my positivity (more times than I’d like to admit), I realize that if I punish myself for all the wrong I’ve done as opposed realizing why I did not succeed at that time and where I went wrong, I will not be able to correct my actions in the future. I would be in-fact imposing more negative energy on myself, my life and my future endeavors. I have to be positive even when I’m wrong and feel defeated, or I will more than likely wallow longer with/ because of a defeated mentality.
2. “A post on LinkedIn Influencers share how they turned setbacks into success.”
As powerful/ experienced/ driven as we may feel on a day to day basis, we are human. We fall into holes; we get tired; we get bored; we get lazy; we make a mistakes. We are complex creatures that live complex lives from an array of experiences. Many of those experiences that press us and challenge us, are there to help us grow and become stronger. The key is letting them. Certain experiences push us to the breaking point, and maybe sometimes even break us in making us doubt our abilities. But the fight in us is what determines the outcome. A moment where we doubt our abilities is a moment where we inadvertently make the choice between growth/expansion or failure/stagnation. But once we are in that moment of fear and doubt, we still have a chance to decided what defines us. Every year, month, day, moment, we must decide on moving forward towards progression.
Learn to face your weaknesses and your mistakes HEAD ON. You can only fail if you quit/ give-up. SO DON’T!
3. Easter.
This may seem odd to some (especially those that know me because I do not currently practice a religion). But through my own interpretations, and being raised Catholic, I realize that religious lessons do give word to life lessons. It is up to the one listening/ reading to find the guidance it provides. And it is the idea of resurrection and renewal that I’d like to touch on.
To me, Easter is about being “spiritually resurrected.” I believe in turning bad situations into lessons and making something you feel you will never recover from, a stepping stone. This is by walking in Faith. Whether in our careers, finances or relationships, there are heights and pitfalls. We are all magnificent beings, but many of us don’t truly believe in the power we possess to be better in all areas in life. Maybe we feel as though we are undeserving or that we are not strong enough to lift ourselves from defeat. There are many obstacles–mental, physical and spiritual. But what gets me through is understanding that we all have weaknesses. And by simply recognizing those weakness we become stronger. And then by working on our weaknesses we get even stronger. And when we finally overcome those weaknesses, we recognize our strengths instead of our weakness.
Recognizing our strengths allow us to recognize the strength of others. And when we see the good in others, we are more of an asset to society, our loved ones and most importantly, ourselves. With each step towards overcoming and building from and past those setbacks and moments of defeat, we feel empowered and we feel FULL. We are able to give not only to ourselves, but to others. And the beautiful thing about giving is we allow ourselves to receive the same. We figure out how to renew because we are abundant.
So when you feel as though things are hard and you’re so low that you don’t think you’ll ever get where you truly want to be, remember that building is a process. Getting stronger is a process. Being better takes time–it takes failing over and over and over again. But it also takes having a mind-set that would not allow you to give up. Because how can you put the effort into anything from a defeated mind-set? How can you build anything believing you don’t already have what it takes to achieve it?
“Resurrect” yourself and walk firmer, taller and stronger than before with the Faith and optimism that you are better and will be better than ever before.
LiberTeeLove 