"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up."
"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
Setbacks in life are inevitable. Some might be of greater proportions than others. Or at least at that moment, we can't imagine anything worse. You know, like in high school when your boyfriend breaks up with you and you feel like your entire world is crashing down and you can't even imagine getting out of bed the next day? Little did you realize that moment is like a tiny grain of sand compared to what's about to hit you in the years to come.
These days, work setbacks spread like wild fire. This includes unemployment, financial difficulties, layoffs and cutbacks. I saw a news story about a company that, instead of laying people off when the recession hit, temporarily cut back on employer retirement contributions. And while some people might be upset that they've lost that contribution, every employee in that company was glad that they still had their job.
I've had "minor" setbacks at home...potty-training setbacks, sleeping setbacks, moving, transitioning and toddler tantrums. Just when I thought my infant was sleeping so well at night, we moved, then moved again. So, 5:30AM came really early for several straight months. I thought for sure we'd be stuck in that stage forever. Thankfully, thankfully, we overcame that. It was nothing a few weeks of tears and snuggles can't cure.
And gym setbacks? I don't think I really need to explain those. You know, the day you're sure you're going to get a PR deadlift and you just don't seem to have it? Or, maybe you're gearing up for a meet in a few weeks and your body just doesn't want to give another ounce? Or, maybe you've been working your bench shirt for months and you decide to trash the entire thing and start fresh? All those setbacks leave us hanging our head, wondering if we're really cut out for this training stuff.
But some setbacks seem so insurmountable. I've watched friends go through miscarriages and infant loss, divorce and military deployments. Some people close to me have seen job losses and bankruptcy, disease and illnesses. A wrestler from the university I was at was diagnosed with cancer shortly after graduating. He passed away last summer. A local mom of three was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Powerlifter and friend Bob Youngs' struggled to overcome Acute Myleoid Leukemia. And one of the smartest (and funniest) strength masterminds out there, Alwyn Cosgrove, overcame lymphoma...twice.
And just last year, a Twitter friend and fellow kettlebell enthusiast, @StrongSarah, was diagnosed with breast cancer. After months of treatments, she finally made a comeback and was released by her doctor. She shared a kettlebell workout that she was going to do on Tuesday morning and many of us shared her triumph of beating cancer by doing the workout as well. Sarah was not about to let breast cancer keep her from her love of training. And volunteering to punish myself, I mean, do the workout, was the least I could do.
Setbacks. Challenges. Struggles. Failures.
Overcome.
“Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.” - Henry Ford