Time to Celebrate

My football team was horrible yesterday. Not just bad, but outright dysfunctional. And I sat in thunderstorms to see it, at least for 3/4 of the game. The good thing is that I had time to think about this blog. What I came up with is that the bad play is analogous to setbacks in business. What do you do when everything around you sucks?

There are two options: (1) Do Nothing or (2) Take Action. Companies with leaders take action. Not just any action, but well thought out changes that address the root cause. From here, they move forward and find ways to win. Doing nothing is for the weak. If nothing changes, nothing will change. Stay forever in a holding pattern of mediocrity.

Another lesson from yesterday is when to celebrate. I briefly listened to sports talk radio and the hosts were saying how horrible it was that our wide receiver celebrated a big catch. What they fail to understand is how important it is to celebrate in bad times. What they fail to understand is that when times are bad, you have to look for the successes. Otherwise, the lingering malaise of failure takes hold.

This is not being delusional and thinking that it is going to be fast or easy. Rarely is that the case. Businesses are complex microsystems that are dependent on many moving parts all working together in the same direction. If it was just a quick fix to change your business trajectory, you would have done it already.

I've had ups and downs in business. Devastating losses and situations that could have kept me on the sidelines, paralyzed with fear and self-doubt. But I had people around me who pointed out the successes, then we focused on the successes and started compounding them. This helped me snap out of a funk and move forward to recapture success. I had to learn to celebrate when everything around me stinks. I had to learn to find the good in any situation and be happy that I learned from it.

This is a different mindset that may not sit well with the haters and observers out there, but it is a mindset of a winner. Learn to find the lesson. Don't sit in the failure. Figure out what to do and move forward. Celebrate your success along the way. What I learned from unfathomable adversity is that I am strong and that I am resilient. I gained the confidence to withstand any future struggles.

There is a saying about learning who people are when times are bad. I can't remember it verbatim, but you will learn who you are by how you act and take action when times are bad. When you are hit in the face with business (or personal) failure, your true self will emerge. I hope for you that you or those around you can identify the success in the failure and celebrate it. Get up, dust off, and move forward.

If you are having difficulties, schedule a complementary call with me at https://calendly.com/libby-coaching or at [email protected]. We'll find a reason to celebrate and get you back on track to the success you seek!