How to Stand Up When You Get Smacked Down

Got a tough question in my inbox today…

Hi Ryan,

I have a question I can only ask a copywriter/marketer who is a parent.

See, since I don’t have kids, I have a different kind of pressure to face than you do.

Recently my main laptop crashed, which erased my entire product launch information.

While I back-up my stuff every week, well, let’s just say it crashed about one day before the weekly update.

This resulted in major stress, not being able to meet my personal deadline.

Since all this happened, I’ve re-written the entire product launch, but at the expense of any and all other productivity.

My question is this – since you’re a parent and you have to constantly keep your act together and keep going, what do you do to re-stabilize after the shit hits the fan?

Reading an email like this makes me cringe because I know the kind of anxiety you feel in the pit of your stomach when you lose hours of work.

That anxiety is magnified tenfold if you’re facing an imminent deadline.

There are a few things I do to recenter when I’ve gotten the proverbial smack down from things outside my control.

First, I remind myself that it’s times like these that define who you are. Are you going to give up? Or are you going to grit your teeth and just get ‘er done?

Second, I remind myself that I can’t control everything. It’s part of being human. But I can control my actions and behaviors. I can control how I react… and… what I do in this moment.

So I try not to waste too much emotional energy when bad stuff happens. “Don’t cry over spilled milk” and all that. I just get back to the grind with energies redoubled and do my best to make something good out of the bad.

Third, I usually have a couple Bible verses replaying in my mind, specifically Proverbs 24:16 and James 1:2. I find encouragement from these verses. Maybe you will, too.

“…for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again…” Proverbs 24:16

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” James 1:2

I find that memorizing a few key quotes can be especially helpful in tough situations. They don’t have to be Bible verses. Just some brief words of wisdom that help you quickly recenter.

Fourth, I visualize great moments when people have overcome insurmountable odds to win.

Have you ever seen a great football game where the underdogs prevailed? Reliving moments like these can galvanize you, light a fire in your belly, and give you great mental fortitude.

Borrow the emotion from other people’s heroic moments and that will help you become the hero you need to be when bad stuff happens.

Hope this helps.

-Ryan M. Healy