"When the Going Gets Tough" - Conclusion

"Conclusion: Another 'R' To Consider"

As we conclude the thoughts on the saying, "When the going gets tough the tough get going" I want to encourage you to realize one thing: YOU CAN MAKE IT THROUGH ANY TOUGH TIME THAT COMES YOUR WAY!

Yes, some are easier to handle than other and some take longer to work through than others but the key thing to remember is that you CAN make it through!

Even though I have not gone into real "in-depth" discussions on each part of this series, I do believe that you have the FOUNDATION that you need to be able to incorporate them into your life to help you during times of struggle.

Bottom line: You'll never improve your situation until you decide to do something different than what you have done before.

As I said at the beginning of this series, first and foremost - YOU HAVE A CHOICE in anything and everything that you do and you also have a choice when it comes time to facing tough situations in your life.

Stop being a victim! Stop trying to find someone else to blame and TAKE CONTROL of your life and DECIDE NOW that you will move ahead!

This is all part of "The 3 R's of Change" that we discussed in yesterday's article. You NEED to "retreat, regroup and rethink" before you move forward again.

Learning from your mistakes is one thing but it doesn't mean that you have to keep making the SAME mistakes over and over again. Actually, what that would mean is that you didn't learn anything at all!

Now, today, in the conclusion I discuss still yet, another "R". I know. I said that there were only three. Well, actually there ARE "The 3 R's of Change" and this one actually is something that may be needed AFTER you go through the first three.

Remember the example of the football or basketball going to the locke room at halftime? That would be the "retreat" part of the equation.

They may need to wrap some ankles or tend to other injuries or even just rehydrate. That would be PART of the "regroup" part of the equation.

However, "regrouping" and "rethinking" are closely tied together. Part of "regrouping" is allowing yourself the time to actually "rethink" the situation as well. Following the example that we used in yesterday's article, the coaching staff would need to look at what has already happened in the first half and then decide - based on what they have seen and experienced - what their "plan of attack" will be for the second half.

If it has not been working then they will "rethink" what they have been doing and they will MAKE A CHANGE and go out onto the field or court with a different game plan.

But, what if NOTHING seems to work over and over again? (Have you been there? I have!)

If the coaching staff continues to "retreat, rethink and regroup" they may eventually discover that the problem is that one of their positions needs to have a change made! Perhaps they have had a key player get injured OR the player that they have in a certain position just isn't quite getting the job done.

What do they do? They "RECRUIT" someone else to come in with the hopes of "filling the gap" and improving the team.

So, this other "R" that we will discuss briefly today is "RECRUIT".

YOU may need to do some recruiting in your own life! This just simply means that you might want to consider the possibility of getting some additional HELP to aide you in your desire to "break through" your tough situation.

Perhaps you may need to "recruit" some materials into your life that will help give you the positive mindset that you need in order to keep moving forward. This blog along with my podcast and other materials is a great example of what I'm talking about. On my website (http://www.michaelspillman.com/) you can also get a free copy of Napoleon Hill's great book, "Think and Grow Rich" as well as access some materials from the late, great Jim Rohn.

You can go and get some free information from http://www.success.com/ and subscribe to their magazine if you think it would be worth the money to do so.

The main thought here is that you UNDERSTAND the need to "fill the gap" that may exist in your life and the mindset needed in order to persevere during tough times.

You may also need to RECRUIT some friends (but make sure they are friends with a POSITIVE mindset as well and NOT someone with a negative mindset which would be self-defeating) to help you stay on track as you do the same for them.

And, finally, you may need to RECRUIT a "mentor" - someone that you trust and respect and that you will actually LISTEN to as well as take to heart the things that they share with you.

This could be a friend - preferably, at least in my thought, an older person that has already experienced some of life's tough times and has come through - that you know personally OR you may even be able to connect with someone that you have become acquainted with via a book or some other source.

However, the probability of you being able to have someone as a mentor in this second category will likely cost you quite a bit of money. True, many people will say that someone is their "mentor" because they have read many of their books and/or listened to them via mp3, CD or even at live events. I agree that some people "connect" with others in a more powerful way (Jim Rohn is that person for me) and that they may have a POWERFUL impact on a persons life without ever even meeting them - but, to me, this is not what I mean by a "mentor".

When I talk about a mentor, I am talking about someone that you can sit down and talk to face to face.

Why is this so important? Because they can talk to you and discuss with you the SPECIFICS of your situation even as they may change from day to day.

But will you listen? It will do no good at all to "recruit" a mentor if you are not willing to listen and take some advice from this person.

That would be like a football team recruiting a new running back to replace their injured running back and then never putting the guy in the game.

Friend, my guess is that, if at all possible, you NEED to find a "mentor" in your life. I say this regardless of the situation that you find yourself in right now. I have benefited greatly over the years by having someone much older and wiser than myself in my life and to be able to sit down and "pick their brain" on different topics.

Why not try it in and for your life as well?

So, when the going gets tough...

- you have some choices to make (you can either GIVE UP or GET UP and keep moving)

- you probably will need to make some CHANGES from what you have been doing before

- you can incorporate "The 3 R's of Change" to help aide you in this process

- you may need to "RECRUIT" someone older and wiser for some advice

So what?

So what will YOU do now that you have this information? It's always up to you. Others can advise and suggest but YOU are the one that will decide what to do.

I will help any way that I can - please don't hesitate to contact me via the contact tab on the main site.

Until the next time...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike