We’ve all been there. Things are going well. The future looks promising, and even if you’re not 100% sure how your plans are going to work out, you’re pretty confident it’ll be ok.

And then it happens. It could be an illness, a missed opportunity, or failed test. Your world seems to crumble a little bit. What you were holding out for didn’t materialize and you’re left holding the pieces of your plans that now seem to be completely useless.

Now what?

Your confidence can take the biggest hit. You may start to question your abilities, maybe even the realism of your goals. You may think you’ve bitten off more than you can chew and that this setback was your reality check.

For a lot of people, this is it. They give up. They say that maybe it wasn’t meant to be, that they weren’t smart enough or capable enough. They take the failure as a reflection of their own personal capabilities.

For some, however, it’s just another part of the journey forward. It’s another learning point, another moment where it just wasn't the right place or the right time. It happens. It still stings a bit, but they don’t dwell on it. In fact they might see some opportunity in the failure. A silver lining.

Which type of person do you think is most likely to see their dreams come to fruition? Which type of person is going to build on their hopes to the point where they are no longer just thoughts in their head or drawings on a piece paper, but instead the life they live? Which type of person do you think is going to bounce back from the inevitable ‘failures’ and catapult into a life filled with passion?

The universe is apathetic to our cause, to our dreams. There's no reason why the cards should fall in our favor, regardless of how much they wish they always did. It's up to us as individuals to make our goals happen, and to find partners and people who will believe in us and work with us to that end. But that will only happen if we're willing to work through pain to see that happen.

The person who takes failure as a challenge and motivation is the person who is going to find the will to dive right back in to the thick of things.

We will all face failure at some point in life, so it’s not a question of “if?”, it’s a question of “when?” and “how much is it going to hurt?” Once you accept that fact, it’s all about your response. Are you going to get hit and stay down or walk away? Or are you going to get up, learn from that hit, and figure out how to dodge the next one while pushing forward?

- Ryan

Can You Take A Hit?