I tripped today. I stumbled. Almost fell.
But it’s happened so often that I don’t even care anymore. I may acknowledge it, but I never look upon those who I’ve tripped in front of – it doesn’t matter to me.
I’ve tripped and fallen so many times, I’m immune to the embarrassment. It’s become apart of everyday life.
Have you ever tripped and fallen? Especially in front of a crowd?
What did you do when you tripped? Did you stay on the ground thinking it was your fault? “Oh why wasn’t I paying attention? Why am I such a klutz?”
Or did you instead keep walking and never look back? Did you keep moving forward?
People think just because they’ve failed miserably, they can’t stand back up. It’s in the public now. It’s over.
But when has that ever stopped anyone before? If everybody wanted everyone to like them and think they’re perfect, what would get done? We would all be too busy being yes-men.
Now the question is, how can we get the will to keep moving forward? Where do we get the courage to pick ourselves up?
First, you must…
Acknowledge the failure
You messed up. DEAL WITH IT. Nothing you do now can change that. The only thing you can do is set your future. But don’t set it for perfection. As we’ve already established, perfection is stupid. Set your future for new experiences. Set it for acceptance of your failures. Set it for the improvement of your resilience.
Only then will you have the ability to…
Learn from it
They say never make the same mistake twice, but we do anyway. I ask you, why?
I’ll tell you why, it’s because we haven’t learned. We haven’t taken the pain to truly understand why we’ve made the mistakes we’ve made. Sometimes it’s not always as easy to spot as the difference between big and small. Sometimes we have to point the finger at ourselves and ask, “Why aren’t we trying to change? Why aren’t we able to change?” It is only when we can learn from our mistakes that we can now…
Keep moving forward
New challenges and blunders await you. Remember that you can learn a lot from your failures; successes not so much. Actors and models get turned down (a lot) in auditions and by modeling agencies every year. And there were probably people who’ve surrounded them, and told them to quit and do something “safe”. I mean, why bother trying to fight against fate? But the people you do see on stage and in the spotlight are the ones who kept pushing. They trudged on.
They kept moving forward.
So the next time you want to give up, think about how far you have come. Have you been moving forward in the promises you’ve made? Are you moving forward in your efforts to live your own life? Is moving forward a priority in your quest for knowledge?
Take a hint from Mr. Disney and his philosophy:
“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
–Walt Disney
*Note: Here at HiLife2B, I like to keep moving forward as well. Take a look at the new logo that was made for free by the talented Ibrahim Husain. He does all sorts of web design and 30-day experiments. Drop him a line if you’re interested. Thanks, Ibrahim!
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23 comments to “How to Keep Moving Forward”
John,
Here’s to moving forward, making lots of mistakes, and ultimately finding that success that comes from being out there and doing it! Keep on keeping on!!
Hi John. Nice post!
I like what you said: acknowledge the failure, learn from it, and move forward. I think this lesson keeps us motivated during times when we feel like quitting, and drives of quicker towards success.
Moving forward is so important. We all trip from time to time (literally and figuratively) and it’s important to figure out assess why it happened, learn from the mistake, and move on. Great points!
I’m liking the new logo!
As tomorrow will always come, we must keep moving forward.
This is a great post! I need the reminder to keep moving forward and not focus so much on perfection. Thank you!
I love the new logo… and I desperately needed that Walt Disney quote (this whole post) today. Time to stop looking back and keep moving forward.
Thanks!
@Lance – That’s what I’m talking about man. I don’t know where I would be if I never made mistakes – probably in a life I ultimately didn’t like. Go make mistakes, Lance!
@Tristan – Hi Tristan, nice to meet you. Mistakes are the bitter parts of life, but the sweet side they leave in their wake (you getting a learning experience) is what makes life great. Success is just around the bend my friend. See you around the blog soon!
@Dani – Thanks Dani! Glad you learned something wonderful from it. You’ve just gotta stay positive and learn from your mistakes. Of course you know that better than anyone else
@Ken – Yeah, I like it too. Constant improvement is what it’s all about. Great thoughts dude.
@Daphne – Perfection is for suckers. Or at least the foolish who think they have to get everything right on the first try. I’m glad you’re liking your stay on the blog
@Lisis – Your journey is obviously one of great hardship, but remember (like Lance said above) to keep on keeping on. Never look back to beat yourself up, but to learn and grow to be better people. There’s no doubt that you’ll be making a “We’ve made it” post on your blog someday soon.
Don’t lose faith. I’ll be here
Failure has been a debilitating experience for many people. Little did they know that for every failure there’s a lesson that must be learned. You have an inspiring insights here. And I’m one with you in keeping forward through our goals.
My most recent fall was in front of a lot of people while playing soccer. Another player tripped me over and I managed to land all 50 something kilos on one point in my arm, fracturing my wrist.
Did I get up and move on? No, I got up and went to the hospital and freaked out for the next 6 weeks about my broken limb!
Now I am back in the game although I was seriously concerned at first about doing the same thing again.
If anything it has temporarily made me more cautious, but I am pushing myself to try, because I don’t want it to hold me back!
By the way – I love your new logo!! Thank you for the post, it is great to have a reminder to not let the little stumbles hold us back and to learn from them to allow us to move on.
Great post. Pushing through to success is what it is all about. I think sometimes we are quick to categorize something as a failure, when in reality it is just an opportunity to learn something that you really need to know in order to better position you for success in the future. At the time it may feel like failure, but you do have to make sure you have the right perspective and as cliche as it sounds, understand that everything really does happen for a reason. If you have the right perspective, I think you are more able to take advantage of “failures” and push through to success. I think that is also what distinguishes those people who continually realize success. They just move on and are motivated to continue because they realize that success, even if it is different than what they initially planned, is somewhere around the corner. They just have to push through and continue until they reach it.
I always try to instill this in my readers, especially when I’m talking about weight loss–it’s seems to be one of those things people look back to thinking, “I didn’t do well last time!” etc.
Totally agree with Walter also, in every failure there’s a lesson to learn, we need to open our eyes to see it though!
Great article, thank you
I really enjoyed this article. I know you didn’t mean it literally but I started jogging a couple of years back. And I literally fell over on a crowded street – hurt my leg and limped home feeling very embarrassed. I stopped running. For about a year, until I got so fed up with feeling unfit. Then I started again, putting that fall behind me.
I did buy some new running shoes though!
Moving forward is all we can do. and i know from experiences. I have been in several business venture where i thought it was a sure thing.LOL. Boy was i in for a surprise. I thought i was in the gold….SMH. I was in the dirt. So i can definitely relate to your post. Moving forward when you fall is all you can do. Plus it makes you stronger, more aware and builds mental resistance.
When the world says, “Give up,”
Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”
– Unknown
Great post John,
Yes we have all fallen in one way or another but it is getting back up again that counts.
I had a very good lesson taught to me by my brother when I was about 12 years old. We were at this dude ranch for kids, like a camp.
We were riding horses when my horse suddenly took off running and I rode part of the way down a mountain hanging off from the side of the horse. Then fell and was dragged for a ways because my foot was stuck in the stirrup.
My brother was the first one to my side and after I was checked out it was he that told me to get back up on the horse and he would lead the horse back to the barn.
I didn’t want to have anything to do with the horse but he insisted by telling me this” if you don’t get back up on the horse now, you will always be afraid to ride again. Is a horse going to lead you now?”
My brother’ s words have stuck with me for years now. He may have only been talking about horseback riding at the time but I have identified many times with his statement.
@Walter – Thanks Walter, I’m happy I inspired you. Failure is something that has a bad outward appearance, but actually has a good side underneath. Like when my computer lost all of it’s data. Sure, I had to rebuild everything back to the way it was, but I also new that I had a clean slate on which to create. Customization possibilities are endless. Glad to know your insights.
@Kirsty – Ouch, I’m sorry. Amazing story though. I saw the picture of your fractured wrist on the blog, so I assumed you were okay
You’re another great example of how people can get back in the game if they truly believe they can. It’s never too late to change. Don’t push hard enough to make the same mistake, but don’t limit yourself either. That’s worse than failure.
So happy to hear everything’s healed
@Alternaview – I really like your thoughts on this. Successful people know that when they fail, it’s a sign that they’re making some headway on a certain goal. They say third time’s a charm for that reason. You won’t always get it the first time or the second time (or maybe even the third time), but when the time you succeed finally comes, man does it feel good.
Take care, buddy.
@Mel – Nice to meet you Mel, and welcome to the blog! Love this part of your response:
“In every failure there’s a lesson to learn, we [just] need to open our eyes to see it though!”
All I can say is that you’ve got it. Hope to see you around here again soon!
@Ian – Literally, figuratively, all of your thoughts are welcome
Sometimes it takes a while for people to get over their failures (like you and your running). It’s perfectly natural to feel that way. But as long as you try again (which you did), failure has done it’s job. It made you think about how much staying fit and running was important to you. You tripped and fell – big deal. Now you’re back on the horse and I’m sure you’re feeling better than ever.
Rock on, Ian
@Jonathan – Awesome, dude. You’ve carried some big burdens and dealt with them accordingly. Be careful who you team up with and don’t look for money initially. It’s all about helping people get what they need. Be a forward thinker – help people first and ask money questions later. Those who aren’t progressive think only about what happens to them in the present (probably in the businesses you’ve been in it was money first and help later). Be progressive and keep moving forward.
Love the quote by the way.
@Bunny – That’s amazing! Honestly, I’m not just saying that. Your brother is a good man, forcing you not to quit. He understood that you have to keep moving forward, even after such a traumatic experience. I plan on horseback riding some day in the future, but your brother’s words will stick with me as well as they’ve stuck with you. I’m sure because of that failure, you’ve become a better person.
Thanks for sharing this story. It’s truly inspiring.
Thanks for the encouragement Bro!
Man, I think it’s a process. Everyone has one… and one is different from the other. Stumbling is natural. It’s whether you get back up that matters.
We are making up this game called life as we go. No one has all the answers. No one is always correct.
Action is the primary requirement for success. Sometimes those actions will fail. Sometimes we get lucky. As John says, “Keep moving forward!”
Focused effort is the recipe for progress.
Oh I love the new logo. It looks refreshing and inviting just like your posts.
I only know how to get back up staying down doesn’t occur to me.
I’ve always considered getting back up an accomplishment. It’s like a milestone, just like a birthday or wedding. It’s the moment when you could have quit/allowed yourself to fail, but instead you took action. You picked yourself up and moved forward.
I love that feeling!
You’re right. Tomorrow is another day, so move forward and learn from the mistakes or failures that we have. Life goes on. Just think positive and everything will be alright.