What Do You Do to Get Back on Your Feet After You Fall?

Written by Lynn Jones on Jun 1, 2011 9:52 pm

When the phone rang, the caller ID showed it was my daughter calling. With my 5 year old grandson crying in the background, she said Taylor fell and there is blood everywhere.
I hung up immediately and quickly drove the short distance down our street to their house.

We nursed the split on his chin, wiping blood from his nose as well. Laying him on the couch to get a better look at the wound, we tried to determine how serious it was. Did it need stitches? Would a butterfly bandage suffice? Did he smash his nose, his lip as well? Were his teeth okay?

Still crying and whimpering, my heart hurt for him.

I prayed for him.

I distracted him, asking him about his favorite topic.

Dinosaurs.

He quieted down right away. You could tell he was thinking.

He loves to play dinosaurs. In fact he has a “claw” that he fits between his toes and he gets his fingers shaped claw-like and he is a T-Rex. For those of you who don’t know that is short for Tyrannosaurus Rex, known as the most fearsome of the carnosaurs.

This time, he tells me he was pretending he was an Ornithomimus. It’s my first introduction to this particular dinosaur. They are very fast he informs me and also omnivores. I know what that means, I say, you taught me, they eat meat and plants.

So while spinning around fast, somehow he fell to the floor in a face plant with a direct hit to the chin.

While we were having a dinosaur talk, his mom called a nurse friend to see if she could come over and take a look and give us some professional advice.

Nurse Becky arrives with the necessary equipment in hand. Three pieces of red licorice and assorted bandages.

Her “bedside manner” calmed him as she explained what she was going to do.....with the promise of red licorice when she was finished.

It’s amazing how fast a child can recover. Maybe it was the tylenol we gave him right after it happened that was finally taking affect. Or maybe it was Mimi’s prayers for him. Or was it being all doctored up with butterfly bandage and a Lightening McQueen bandage to cover it all? Or, was it the sweet Red Licorice that got him sitting upright?

Whatever it was, he bounced right back up soon after his fall.
I thought to myself.....there is a lesson in this for us all.

How often do we trip and fall? Or blunder and make a mistake?
Whether it is in your personal life or business life how long does it take us to bounce back?

Do we want to stew over our “fall”, over thinking the situation? Or wallow in self pity, feeling like we can’t possibly get up after this booboo.

No!

Let’s learn a lesson from children.

They are very resilient.

They recover quickly.

They forget their hurt, stop crying and move on.

So, learn from your “falls”, cry a little if it hurts, but don’t stay there very long!

Call a friend or mentor and ask for prayer or professional advice.
Savor that “sweet licorice” (friendship/advice/sympathy) Then move on to the next game or challenge, whether it’s becoming an Ornithomimus or a strong force in your business.

Oh, and later on that night, Taylor raises his finger to his mom and says, “Mommy, Now I know that being an Ornithomimus is a dangerous job.”

Being in business can be a “dangerous job” too, but we can all get back up if we fall or get knocked down.

All the best to you in Your Business!

Your Networking Friend,

Lynn Jones

http://lynnjonesonline.com