HOW TO MAKE A COMEBACK

Hello Readers!  This is my first post of 2012 and I know many of you have long awaited Wisdomnotes' return.  Some of you have even personally asked for and/or threatened me to put a new post up.  Since Wisdomnotes is making a comeback, I thought it only appropriate to make that today's topic.  As always, please share your thoughts with me.  I welcome your feedback. Now, onto it!

Wisdom says...


Making a comeback is easier than you think.  It takes work, but once you get started, you will be on a roll.

Trials, or life's storms, are a part of life and we have to accept and embrace them as such.  One popular cliche is, "what doesn't kills us, only makes us stronger".  The thing is, hardship doesn't actually kill "us" but it kills our dreams and determination.  It causes us to lose both our focus and our fervency.  What will will do?

In the above movie (which I am sure you have already seen), Daniel had been harassed perpetually by an unsavory group of his peers for a long time. Finally, Daniel's mentor (Mr. Miyagi) sets up a platform for Daniel to meet his opponents on equal footing.  In this final scene, Daniel has been injured badly, but he had to make a decision.  He can either stay down and lose, or get up and make a comeback.

We too, have to make that choice.

When circumstances come and knock us down, we have to be determined to get back up again.  We may feel incapacitated and as if we cannot go on.  If we get back up, we will received the trophies of success, optimum physical and mental health, fruitful relationships, and the restoration of vision (for our lives).

Q: What do/did you have to come back from?  Death of a loved one, a divorce, loss of job or a home, financial ruin, depression, emotional wounds, broken relationships?  What will it take to make your comeback?

Essential steps in the process of making a comeback:

• Grief- Allow yourself time to grieve over your loss and don't deny the feelings you are (or have been) experiencing. Then allow yourself to heal from the hurt caused by it.  
• Acceptance- Accept the hardship as a part of life.  Without it, there would be nothing to measure the good times by.   
• Identification- Spend some time reflecting to identify anything you could have done differently.  While some things are completely beyond our control (death, for example), others we can control (our response it, for example).
• Visualization- Get a mental picture of what the end product/result looks like.
• Planning- Write down your comeback plan and consider the pros and cons.  Look at what (if anything) you can implement to prevent or minimize another disaster.  For example, for an unforeseen hardship, you may choose to obtain counseling instead of isolating.
• Support- We cannot do anything in life without the help of others.  Identify who can best help you on your journey and connect with them.  Make sure the individual (s) can and will support you during the hard times.

These steps are by no means all-inclusive.  One may have to explore many things before successfully making a comeback.  One thing I did not mention is "the GOD factor".  While GOD has been at the very center of my own comebacks, I realize that not everyone is in the same place.  

Reflection questions: 

• Is there any area of your life that you feel you need a comeback?
• What kind of hardship have you had to overcome?  Do you have any feedback for others in the same predicament?
• Are there other steps (other than those listed above) that you have successfully employed while making YOUR comeback?

Prayer: Father, help us to get back up again when life knocks us down.  Help us to also acknowledge you within the process of making a comeback, understanding that YOUR burden is easy, and YOUR burden is light.  Give us both a vision and strategy to live successfully.