Temporary Setbacks or Permanent Failure?

Temporary Setbacks or Permanent Failure?
Nearly thirty years ago, I went rock climbing for the first
time with a group in New Mexico. It sounded exciting and
challenging! After a day and a half of training, which
they called, "bouldering," we were ready to climb! Then
reality set in.

When climbing a mountain, you just cannot go from the
bottom to the top in five easy steps! There are obstacles
and there are set backs. You also make mistakes. And,
even though I was tied to a rope, and could not fall off
the mountain, at times it was scary.

Anyone who has ever climbed knows that you can easily end
up where there is no place to go, or so it seems. You're
stuck. But quitting is not an option.

You cannot just stand there and feel sorry for yourself.
It is pointless to wonder what you did wrong that got you
into such a predicament. You cannot go back down, so you
are forced to become solution minded. In other words, you
find a way to get to the top. You figure out a way to
succeed.

I held on for dear life that day, on my first climb, stuck
about three quarters of the way to the top. It seemed that
there was no place to go, and nowhere to put my hands or
feet so that I could continue upward. But after a few
minutes had passed and I realized that I had to do
something, I began to look again for a solution.

I then noticed a rock sticking out, that I might be able to
grab with my hands and pull myself up to where I could have
a small foothold. I called to the instructor at the top
and asked him if that rock would hold my weight if I pulled
myself up. I can still remember his answer, "I don't know.
Why don't you try it and see?"

In life we many times feel, "stuck." We wonder how we got
into the situation that we are presently in. It is in
those times that we need to be careful about how we define
it. Have we failed, or, is it just a setback?

W. Clement Stone once said, "Defeat is never the same as
failure unless and until it has been interpreted as such."

Setbacks, adversity, or being stuck are never an indication
that you are a failure unless you decide that those things
define your life as a failure. For people looking for an
excuse to be a failure, there are always plenty to choose
from.

But if you want your life to be successful, setbacks,
adversity and being stuck are simply stepping-stones to
your success. Success minded people accept those kinds of
things for what they really are. They know that for them,
they are only temporary.

There are countless stories of men and women who faced
setbacks and became very successful. Perhaps one of the
most known is that of Abraham Lincoln. A number of "lists"
that you can find on the internet are exaggerated, and some
of the items are misleading and untrue. But Abe did indeed
face a number of hard times and setbacks. Here are a few
that I have found to be accurate.

His mother died when he was nine. He was co-owner of a
general store in Illinois that went out of business. The
girl he loved and wanted to marry, Ann Rutledge, died.

He failed in his first attempt to obtain political office
for the Illinois state legislature. He did not get the land
officer position that he wanted.

In two separate election years, he did not get elected to
the United States Senate. He didn't get enough votes to be
his party's nomination for Vice-President of the United
States.

But, he was elected president of the United States in 1860
and in 1864.

It doesn't matter what others think or say about you. How
you define your own life and circumstances every day is
very important. Define all your setbacks as simply
temporary and refuse to even use the word "failure."

By the way, I did grab onto that rock, and when I did, it
moved, just a little! I then decided to grab it again. I
realized that the worst that could happen was that it would
come out and it might bang me up a little. I knew I
couldn't fall off the mountain because of the rope, so I
pulled on that rock again!

It moved, just a little, but it held me as I pulled myself
to the next foothold. Several minutes later, I was at the
top. I informed the instructor that the rock sticking out
a number of feet below us was loose. "Yes," he said
quietly, "I noticed that on my way up earlier."

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Listen to one of Michael A. Verdicchio's Pep Talks at
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Michael is a husband, father, minister, author, and
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over the years.