I have read many articles encouraging others to use adversity as a springboard for the future, of the need to get back on the horse immediately after you fall, that many of those who have failed went on to become successful. I am also one who writes posts expressing the same view, of the need to carry on regardless of the situation.
What I have not read much about is how to do this. How do you use adversity as a springboard, how do you get back on that horse, how do you simply carry on when you have failed in your own eyes? I am one of those who did fall, not as heavily as others, but enough to slow me down for a few years.
Here's a way that worked for me. Everything. Because our brain is a complicated beast it needs support and stimulation in many and varied ways. So I read lots of books, tried lots of mind-changing techniques (some of which are on my website), viewed lots of videos, got myself fit, and most importantly I kept moving forward. That was the secret for me, to keep moving forward and find new ways to repair myself.
If I had given up when I fell down I would not have become a crisis negotiator, nor gone to the FBI Academy, nor to the Australian counter terrorist negotiators course, nor to the Delhi Commonwealth Games and London Olympics, I would not have achieved a Master of Arts Degree and double Diplomas, the list goes on. I say this not to show off but to inspire others.
Picking yourself up after a fall is not easy, in fact some never can without continued support from something or someone. Finding a way back up is different for us all, the common ground is that you need to keep going. Keep reading, keep trying, work hard to find the various techniques that will work for you.
No longer is there a negative stigma attached to brain sickness (mental illness) as there once was. And that is a good thing, a great thing in fact. The more that we talk and share our personal stories the more we can understand brain sickness for what it actually is, another of life's adversities. As we tell our story it also becomes easier to accept that we fell.