Maybe you aren’t 17 to 21 years old, but this is still relevant: age, after all, is just a state of mind. We are all young in the way that we make mistakes: we all fall off track from time to time. So this article is a series of recommendations to help you get back on your game.
1. Get Out
Get out of bed. Get out of the house. Get out of your head. Get out of your emotions. Get out of your defeat and self-pity. Take a walk. Tell yourself it be like that sometimes. Breathe. Know that life goes on and that there is still time to improve. We are people, we are imperfect and our lives will be just as imperfect. We have to keep trying, we have to keep waking up and putting in the effort. If we want to be anywhere other than where we are right now or even if we want to simply maintain where we are right now we have to keep waking up and putting in the work. Life is hard, but that just makes the successes that much greater. As long as we keep moving forward we will be okay.
2. Eyes on the Prize
Remind yourself where you are going. Remind yourself where you want to be. Remind yourself why you wanted it in the first place. You failed a test? Study harder for the next one! You failed a whole course? Take it again! You got fired? Get a new job! You messed up? Fix it! Can’t fix it? Build from the ground up! Either restore what you messed up or start a new path if there’s no going back but do not give up! Do not settle! The things you want in life define your path. You want love? Work for it! You want success? Work for it! It’s all achievable — and this is a fact. You just need to put in the effort.
3. Start
The more you put off getting back into life, the worse it will get. You need to be an active member, considering you are the entire crew behind the scenes of your life. All you can do is your best, so just start again. Start studying. Start going to the gym. Start actively going after opportunities. Just start again. It may seem scary, going out into the big mean world, but that’s where everything happens — the bad and the good. Things in motion, stay in motion. If you work at it, it will get done.
4. Don’t Stop
You’re going to want to give up but don’t, because then you will just have to repeat these steps. Starting over is a lot more agonizing than giving up. If you don’t like starting over, stop giving up. I know it’s not that simple, but if you can avoid giving up, do so! If you are not giving 100 percent, give it! When you reach your limit and do give up, still don’t stop. Lick your wounds and keep on fighting. Give up, get out, get your eyes on the prize, start and then don’t stop.
We all get knocked down — it’s how we stay humble. But it’s not where we are supposed to stay. You are worth the effort it takes to keep going. Get out there and change your world.