Let’s face it, there times in life when we’re going to fall down—either through the fault of our own doings or through the travails of daily living.
The test of our strength and our character is how we get back up.
Sometimes, life knocks you down and it takes the wind from your being. Sometimes, it’s good to sit and inhale a moment or two, letting your lungs refill with the force of life before you rise again.
What’s worse is that we fall down in different areas of our life at different times. Some days, you’ll be on the ground more than you’ll be on your feet… that’s just life.
We know this feeling and our clients have shared with us their pain and confusion when they’ve stumbled, fallen, and then scrambled to get back up, not once or twice but over and over. They come to us bruised and aching and looking for support to rise to greater heights by incorporating the lessons learned from the last fall.
There are lessons in every fall.
The key to getting back up is understanding why you fell and then making adjustments so that you don’t fall again in that same way.
One of the hardest things to do as a leader (and a parent) is to let others function independently enough so that they can and do fall—not as punishment, but so they build the intelligence, the confidence, and the strength of character to get back up. They need to build brain muscles that will allow them to right themselves when circumstances blow them over.
Well-intended managers who micromanage do more damage in the long run than absent managers, because they don’t leave enough room for their reports to make mistakes and then grow from those mistakes.
If you hold them back, they won’t learn to solve problems, come into their own, and find ways to bounce back when they land on their butts.
This week, do a quick scan of your life and make sure that you’re not sitting on the ground in any area of your life. If you’ve fallen, learn from it and then do what it takes to get back up. If you’re a manager, make sure your employees are developing the skills they need to rise from a fall.
Remember, you’re worth it! And, if you ever need a hand up we’re here for you.
Your coaches and allies at,
Carpenter Smith Consulting
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