Get Up and Start Over

It was the day that I thought these thoughts that I am thinking's now and passing on to you.

It was not my best day ever. I have to be honest. Without utter, disrobed, blatant, raw honesty, I have nothing of value to say.

Yet, who am I to say anything about a day?

I had experienced, exercised, and exorcised most possible negative emotions. I was so tired and frustrated that I had turned to late night work to energize and encourage my weary soul.

It does. The very notion that I can somehow be productive and contribute something lifts my spirits and I think it will lift most people's spirits.

"Bad days" are crossroads. If the day is totally rotten and discouraging, the temptation is to give up.

It is a strong temptation, not only to give up, but to do it in some big, demonstrative way that announces to the masses that another person has quit.

And then, you expect a monument, a testimonial, or a day of recognition. It is not likely to be that way.

Here lies Tom. He quit.

You just do not see many engravings like that.

Quitters are a dime a dozen. There is no shortage of people giving up.

At the crossroads we choose: Give up or get up.

We already know how to give up. We need no tutorial on that. What we need is a strategy for getting up when the frustration anchor is deeply embedded in muck of bad luck and the sand of grand plans gone awry. Getting up takes a burst of energy from somewhere else and a big dose of extraordinary courage.

GET

G - Give it another shot.

Whatever it is and however disappointing the results may have been, agree to taking one more step toward where you are going and being led. You don't have to agree to anything for a week from now - not today. Just agree to give it another day. Then we can talk again tomorrow.

E - Energize!

Squeeze it out. Something is left in you and there is a power greater than you that can supply what is lacking. Stand to your feet and begin. There is one brush left in that bottle of toothpaste. There is one more sip in that glass of water. There is always something left. Spend it on the prize before you!

T - Tell someone

Tell them that you are not quitting today, that you felt like it and that you were justified in it, and that it would have been the easiest and most practical thing for you - but you just aren't going to do it! You are going to keep moving forward,. When you tell it, you commit to it at a deeper level and you accumulate a team of supporters.

UP

U - Utilize

Utilize every resource you can find, human, creative, practical, material, and emotional. Getting up from disappointment requires more of everything than starting from the beginning. Be creative. Be resourceful. Be assertive.

P - Pray.

Now some of you, I know, don't believe in God or in prayer, but it will not hurt you to do it as an exercise. Your version might be a time of thought and reflection. For believers, it is that and more. As you pray, you will collect people and resources along with ideas and solutions. You will slow down your frantic thinking and sharpen your focus.

There are no guarantees that you will succeed in your venture or that I will in mine. What you will guarantee is that you woke up to another day and that you did not quit before the right time.

GET UP!