How many times have you put too many eggs (hopes, dreams, plans) into one basket only to find the basket had a hole in it? I know that has happened to me more times than I care to count. It happens to all of us. The Colonel said, “Reset your nose and get back in the game, kiddo. A setback is merely a setup for a comeback.”
Each time I’ve been faced with what I perceived as a crushing defeat; Dad would remind me of the time he’d broken his nose during a college football game. (He played center for the University of Idaho.) He didn’t want to be pulled out of the game, so he stuck his fingers up his nose in the huddle and reset his nose himself so he could get back in the game.
While I am NOT suggesting we perform surgery on ourselves, the message is simple – work the problem and keep moving forward. If eggs are falling out of the hole in your proverbial basket, the important thing is not to dwell for too long on the fractured eggs but focus on how you’re going to use what’s left.
What are the setbacks you have faced in the past few years? How can you take the fractured pieces of what you THOUGHT would happen and make something new from them? How can you use the lessons you’ve learned from the situation to create new paradigms? How can you use them to craft an outstanding comeback? How can you lead others to do the same? Are you so focused on the setback that you can’t see the opportunity for a comeback?
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.