How to Rise Up After Life Knocks You Down

• Some failure in life is inevitable.
• When life knocks you down, you can choose to either stay there or rise up once more.
• If you want to make a comeback, you must learn how to manage your failures.
• Find out what went wrong and then start again with a better version of yourself.

Nobody likes to fail.

Everyone wants to win and achieve success, but most of the time, failure is what we receive.

And it is hard to swallow when you have done something that screwed up.

There are many times when life can hit you with a brick on the head and makes you fall, but that doesn’t mean that you should fall and continue to stay there.

You can always get back up again when life knocks you down.

Steve Jobs was fired from the company that he started.

He did not give up.

He used this experience to build up his character, leadership and turned his struggles into strengths.

Eventually, Jobs went back to Apple and transformed the company into one of the most valuable companies in the world.

The same thing happened to Walt Disney.

He was fired by a company due to his “lack of imagination”.

However, that did not deter his spirit to start his own company and built the Walt Disney theme park and Mickey Mouse into stardom.

As you can see, if you want to make a comeback, you must learn how to manage your failures.

You must learn how to rise up when life knocks you down.

Always remember this, life can knock you down seven times, but you can decide and get back up again for the eighth time.

Here are suggestions of what you can do when you are experiencing tough times or facing failures in life.

Rising Up When Life Knocks You Down

1. Give yourself some time to heal

After suffering a big blow, it is hard to accept the truth and it is often heart-breaking.

And probably, you will not get over it in a day or two.

So if you have just failed at a product launch, been fired from your company, forced to close your business, or filed for bankruptcy, take some time off to heal yourself, especially emotionally.

It is alright to take some time off.

After Steve Jobs was fired from his own company, he took three months off traveling and discovering himself.

Eventually, he found out that he still loved what he did and decided to start a company called Next.

The rest, they say, is history.

Perhaps, it is a good time to take a rest, to slow down, and to reflect on what has happened.

It is during these times that most big ideas and successful companies and business were born.

2. Accept the truth

No matter what you do, you must accept the truth that you have failed.

You must take the responsibility of what you did that ended up being where you are right now.

You don’t have to hide, ignore, or deny that fact that you have failed.

In fact, the faster you can accept the truth, the easier you can get out of it.

Thus, accept that you have been knocked down.

At the same time, understand that it is perfectly alright to fail.

Failure is inevitable.

If you are not getting enough failures, it means that you are not trying hard enough.

3. Find out what went wrong

Once you have accepted the truth that you have failed, it is time to learn and find out why you failed.

Find out what went wrong so that you can do better in the future.

This is where successful people separate themselves from the unsuccessful.

The unsuccessful tried a few times, but when they fail, they stop and they never make any progress anymore.

On the other hand, successful people keep trying.

More importantly, they find out what went wrong and then they keep improving their strategy.

It is just like how a baby learns to walk.

Will you stop a baby from walking because you are afraid that she may fall again?

No, you will not.

You will encourage her to stand up again after she falls.

You encourage her to take the next step and to keep trying again and again, until she walks, right?

The same principle applies to your life.

Sometimes, things are just not going to work out for the first time.

You should try at least a few more times.

And if things still don’t work out, find out what went wrong.

You have to do a post-mortem to discover the reason for your failure.

When you know why you fail, don’t repeat it again, instead, improve yourself to do better in the future.

4. Learn from others

Another great suggestion is to learn from others.

Find out who are the ones that have gone through similar situations as you, get their opinions, and learn from them.

Whatever goals that you want to achieve, someone else has already achieved them before.

You don’t have to hit the wall and figure out everything on your own.

Find out who has done that and learn directly from him or her.

Learning from others can shortcut your learning curve and at the same time, you are able to see how others have gone through similar situations just like yours and still manage to not only survive, but thrive.

When life knocks you down, reading success stories of people who have accomplished extraordinary results in their lives is a great motivation.

5. Find something positive to focus on

Napoleon Hill once said:

“Every adversity contains, at the same time, a seed of equivalent opportunity.”

You have to understand that failure is not the opposite of success, it is a part of success.

This is because your failure builds your characters, make you wiser, and gives you the experience to do better in the future.

And without the experience, you will never be able to create the success that you want.

Tony Robbins says that success comes from good judgment.

Good judgment comes from experience.

And experience often comes from bad judgment.

So, welcome failures.

When you fail, find something positive to focus on.

Try to discover the opportunity within every setback.

That is how you learn and improve to become stronger in life.

6. Think, plan, and set a new goal

When life knocks you down, you can choose to either stay there or rise up once more.

You have to understand that failure is an event, not a person.

When you fail, it means that you fail at something. A project, a goal, or an attempt.

As long as you don’t give up, you are not a failure.

Therefore, think, plan, and set a new goal.

It is never too late always dream a new dream or set a new goal.

It is only too late when you believe and thinks so.

In fact, planning and starting with a new goal can be more powerful because you have already gained the experience and knew what to do and what not to do.

7. Reboot and start again

After going through the process where you have failed and get back up again, it is like having a major update with your computer.

So what usually the operating system requires you to do after a major update?

Reboot and restart.

This what you need to do.

Reboot and then start again with a better version of yourself.

It is alright to fail.

Actually, failure is something very common.

The key is whether you are going to stay there or get up and strive again.

Hence, don’t be afraid to get back up and to try again.

Remember this meaningful quote from Robert Jordan:

“You don’t drown by falling in the water, you drown by staying there.”

What’s your experience with bouncing back when life knocks you down?

I’d love to hear your stories.