Guard Your Gates

It was my last day on the job. I was being driven home because I had to return the company car. I failed. After a few weeks of reflection, out of all of the books I read during that time, one book stood out. “Bounce Back” by John Calipari.

“Bounce Back” by John Calipari is a book about overcoming setbacks in business and life. Calipari shares his own experiences of facing failures and how he bounced back from them.

It reminded me that a failure requires time to mourn, but also time to plan your bounce back.

As you travelled along your track to success, have you ever experienced career derailment? Business derailment? Relationship derailment? If not, don’t worry, it’s coming. It is all a part of the journey. Failure is an inevitable part of life, and it can be difficult to bounce back from it. However, it’s important to remember that failure is not the end of the line, but an opportunity to learn and grow. Instead of dwelling on what happened to you, put your energy into the response.

As Stephen Covey said in his book, 7 Havits of Highly Effective People, “It’s not the snake bite that drives the poison to the heart, it’s chasin that sucker that moves the poison through your veins.” What matters most is what you do after you failed.

What to do after a derailment:

Organize:

Allow time to gather your thoughts, grieve, and plan. After experiencing a failure, it’s important to take time to think about what went wrong and what you can do differently next time. It’s also ok to mourn because you did suffer a loss. Use this time to also plan your next steps and set goals.

Defend:

Don’t be afraid to seek support from friends, family, or a professional to battle bouts of depression and isolation. Having a support system can provide encouragement, guidance, and help you stay accountable.

Guard:

Be proactive and embrace the growth mindset. It can help you see the opportunities in this setback and help you learn and grow. Embrace challenges, seek feedback, and focus on progress.

I look back from time to time on that long quiet ride home and remember the fire that burned an imprint of perseverance on my heart like a tattoo. What about you? Are you ready to quit? Don’t. Remember what John Calipari said in “Bounce Back,” “When setbacks happen, we need to take a moment to absorb the blow, but we also need to start planning our comeback.”

So whenever you hit the bottom, organize, defend, and guard, and be prepared to bounce.