Sometimes we need to take a knee.

Mike Tyson famously said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. And here’s the thing, no matter who you are, some day life is going to punch you in the mouth. You can plan, and prepare, and think positive thoughts, but we all have setbacks.

But what do you do then?

To keep the boxing metaphor going, sometimes we need to take a knee. In boxing, when we are knocked down, we get a 10 count to get back in the fight. This gives the fighter a chance to get their feet back under them, get their head on straight, and get ready to go back to battle. And when we get knocked down we might need to do the same.

Take a beat to re-evaluate. Think about what just happened, and most importantly, what we can learn from it. Taking a knee doesn’t mean we are giving up. It’s just about taking a moment to get our feet back under us, our head on straight…and get ready to go back into battle again…but smarter.

So if you are in the middle of a setback…take a mental knee. Then get ready to get after it again soon!