Two Steps Forward-Three Steps Back

Life is going step-by-step. You don't always have to stride, you may take baby steps when you need to, but you must always keep moving forward. Setbacks in life
 are nothing more than taking 3 steps back, refocusing, regrouping and
 then moving on
~J.V. Manning

After working some serious overtime you finally have enough money saved up to pay off some bills and buy yourself a special treat, only to have your car break down on the way home from work and have it cost you all that you had saved, to get it fixed. Or you are doing so awesome on your diet, getting closer and closer to your goal, only to have such a stressful week, you end up cheating and over-indulging and gain back ten pounds. Or maybe after months of calm in a rocky marriage, something dumb triggers a heated argument, resulting in angry words and hurt feelings.

Two steps forward - 3 steps back.

It almost seems destined doesn't it? You work so hard and get so close to attaining a goal and then BAM! From out of the blue - a setback. You are forced to regroup, rethink and start over again. Sometimes even the most minor setback can feel like a game changer and you are left wondering if it is even worth picking up and continuing on. 

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I have been doing physical therapy now for the past month following surgery on my knee. I have been working hard to strengthen it, get my range of motion back and being able to walk without crutches. Everything had been progressing nicely. I was almost back to full strength, I was walking stronger and for longer periods. All in all pleased with my progress. I was tired of being laid up and ready to get on with my life. Places to go, people to see, and things to do. I was excited. Until, at the beginning of what should have been my last week of therapy, I pulled my quad muscle and got knocked back to square one. All of my hard work, struggles and progress, gone.

Did I want to scream? Yes. Did I get angry and frustrated? Damn right.

Did I give up and quit? Well, no.

What I did was get mad. Then I moved on to sad and was plenty frustrated. I was tired of being in pain, tired of being limited on what I could do and so frustrated that I was so close and suddenly, had to start again.

But it got me thinking. 

Set backs are a part of life. Nothing in life is guaranteed and sometimes we lose.  We can bust our ass, give up so many different things in order to attain a certain goal - only to have something break and end up having to take a few steps back to regroup.  It feels like the end of the world. It feels like a slap in the face. It makes us question ourselves and why we are even trying in the first place. For some this is when they throw up their hands and say, "I Quit!' Some let the sadness and defeat weigh heavy on their shoulders, so heavy they can't move forward. While others decided to take a different route and hope for better results.

The key is to keep moving forward. So what you had a setback? It is life. It is not that you didn't try hard enough. It is not that you didn't give it your all. It doesn't make you weak or any less worthy of attaining whatever goal that you are working towards. It simply means that sometimes, shit happens. Eloquent I know, but seriously, it does.

If you let setbacks throw you off your course, if you let setbacks crush your soul and spirit, you will never get to where you deserve to be.  Look for the lesson if there is one. Learn what you can from it. Maybe see a better way of doing things. Then get back up and get back at it. If a stupid mistake caused the setback, shake it off, learn your lesson and get back out there.

Life is going step-by-step. You don't always have to stride, you may take baby steps when you need to, but you must always keep moving forward. Setbacks in life are nothing more than taking 3 steps back, refocusing, regrouping and then moving on.

For moving on is the only way you will reach you goal. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on the damn horse. Start over if you have to but start you must. Eyes forward, shoulders back and get over it any way you can.

You are not a quitter.