"For the righteous falls seven times and rises again."
Proverbs 24:16
No one is perfect. Even the righteous fail at something at some point in time. But the world's most resilient people aren't afraid of failure. They aren't afraid of setbacks and defeats. They don't shy away from the pain -they embrace it. They use it to fuel them, to enhance their frame-of-mind, and come back stronger than before.
I suffered a minor physical setback two weeks ago when I took a hard fall on my bike and fractured the navicular bone on my left foot. Surgery was not an option for me, so I chose the struggle of walking with an orthopedic boot and the tedious therapy process—however, the most challenging aspect of such ordeal is overcoming the mental fear of falling again.
Let me give you 6 Ways to Bounce Back Faster:
1. Elevate your perspective.
"Don't make a mountain out of a molehill," I recall my mother saying to me even into adulthood when I'd break out into complete hysteria about church members' situations. Most of us can remember occasions when we've blown up a relatively minor problem into a major catastrophe.
There is a distinct difference between "having" big problems and "making" a problem big.
By elevating your perspective, you can see your problems for what they are.
Don't tell God how big your problems are, flip it around and tell your problems how big God is.
Albert Einstein said: "Our problems cannot be solved on the same level of thinking at which they were created."
2. Watch your language.
Your words create your reality. Salomon, the wise man, says: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" Proverbs 18:21.
Be careful no to talk up your problems using dramatic or catastrophic language. If you describe your circumstances as a nightmare or a sheer disaster, you're setting yourself up to experience just that. Use your setbacks as a powerful testimony of the Grace of God and an exciting opportunity for spiritual growth. Use your words wisely.
3. Nurture habits that build resilience.
When life is pressing in on you, investing time to bring your best self to your most significant challenges is imperative. It's your small daily habits that set you up to handle life situations successfully. Spend some time in prayer, read the Word, witness to a friend or a stranger about the goodness of the Lord, keep a good diet, and exercise-Nurture your soul, body, and spirit.
Taking time out from your busyness to do things that refill your spiritual and emotional tank will pay off a hundredfold.
4. Don't let your adversity define you.
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. But he never gave up. He kept bouncing back.
In 1998 a neighbor opposed my plan to buy our present facilities as a House of Worship and said to me: "You will never succeed because Hispanic people don't have the financial means to do it." But we never gave up.
No one likes rejection, getting their heart broken, or pride dented. Although our setbacks and struggles can shape us, they don't have to define us. When life deals you a particularly tough blow, don't let that setback become your identity. Our identity is found in Jesus Christ, and we are who He says we are- children of God. So use your rejections and setbacks to propel you forward towards your God-given destiny.
5. Choose faith and optimism.
Martin Seligman writes, "Optimists endure the same storms in life as pessimists. But they weather them better and emerge from them better off."
"Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise, when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me."
Micah 7:8
No matter how bad things are, they don't stay bad forever. We serve a God that can turn a bad situation into a blessing. He did it for Joseph, Daniel, Job, and he will do it for you and me.
Our negative, pessimistic carnal thinking, more times than not, drives us to underestimate our ability to recover. We have God on our side, we have faith, we have divine promises, and we need to have the resilience to bounce back stronger than before. It's not that things don't hurt. It's that they don't hurt quite as long or as much as we think they will.
However hard it might be to see any light at the end of the tunnel, don't give up hope that you never will. God is with you. Trust him.
Have a blessed week,
Pastor (Rev. Elias Limones)
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