Has there ever been a time before now where we, collectively, have been called to level up our lives, face hard truths – many of which are buried deep that COVID has caused to surface – and face a sense of failure, disappointment and struggle? I know I have.
Click the image above to listen to the podcast about “Turning Failure into Growth” with Mark Black and myself.
Being isolated at home has caught me completely unaware of the unsolved pain of having had postpartum depression twice (and my kids are now 15 and 17 so truly, I thought I was “over it by now”).
Being off the road, not doing the community activities I (and my family) enjoy, and my business feeling sharp around the edges has brought up parallels to those PPD days. Stuck at home during terrible Canadian winters, isolated from friends, detached from the meaning and sense of accomplishment I got from work, and the lack of certainty in myself and my life, in hindsight over the last five months, I can see how there are so many painful similarities.
I don’t feel I “deserve” to be upset; in COVID, we’re all well when others are not, and when having a baby, we had a healthy child so what do I have to complain about? 
I didn’t ask for help; I have to figure it out myself, as people in far harder circumstances all over the world become moms every day. I have to course correct my business because it’s only me.
I kept my struggles to myself; I felt shame about being depressed as a new mom; I feel worried about being too open that a “motivational” speaker and coach is struggling now too.
I need to be strong for everyone else; my husband was grieving for his dying mother when our babies were born. I need to be strong for my clients, colleagues, kids ( the “everyone before me” trap).
I guess the bottom line is, this has been a time where I’ve had to take a good hard (painful) look at the very book I published last year and live the FLIP.
And here’s what it’s affirmed for me; there is no fast forward button or easy route through struggle (well, there could be, but then it’s just unresolved ready for you to struggle with another day). When the FLIP happens is when you can say: I don’t know how to do this, I am struggling, but I’m determined to find a way through it.
Let’s talk about what resilience really looks like and what that FLIP might look like for you.
Want more info on FLIPing Failure into a Win? Check out the links below to previous articles:
- What I learned from Postpartum Depression: Your Greatness is Ever Present
- The FLIP SIDE of Failing: How Failure Can Build Stronger Connections
- The Genuine Human Connection: Authentic, Meaningful Conversations
- Why Happiness is Better Than Being Perfect
- Three Tips for Deciding When to Say No
- Finding Passion and Joy in Your Life
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