Failure is part of success, an integral part. Everybody gets knocked down. Knowing it will happen and what you must do when it does is the first step back.My Five Dos for Getting Back Into the Game:
1. Do expect defeat. It’s a given when the stakes are high and the competition is working ferociously to beat you. If you’re surprised when it happens, you’re dreaming; dreamers don’t last long.
2. Do force yourself to stop looking backward and dwelling on the professional “train wreck” you have just been in. It’s mental quicksand.
3. Do allow yourself appropriate recovery – grieving - time. You’ve been knocked senseless; give yourself a little time to recuperate. A keyword here is “little.” Don’t let it drag on.
4. Do tell yourself, “I am going to stand and fight again,” with the knowledge that often when things are at their worst you’re closer than you can imagine to success. Our super Bowl victory arrived less than sixteen months after my “rain wreck” in Miami.
5. Do begin planning for your next serious encounter. The smallest steps – plans – move you forward on the road to recovery. Focus on the fix.
From "The Score Will Take Care of Itself" by Bill Walsh with Steve Jamison and Craig Walsh
