Some weeks just come for you.
Recently, I found myself in the middle of one of those stretches where the universe seemed to be conspiring, in its cheerful and indiscriminate way, to test my resilience. You know the kind. Bad things come in threes, or so the saying goes. I have never been entirely sure whether that is a genuine pattern or simply the way our brains are wired to find patterns, but either way, there I was: three for three.
First, a stomach bug. Nothing glamorous about it. Just the kind of day where you cancel everything, drink ginger ale, and feel sorry for yourself. “Ew” is really the only appropriate response.
Then, a mistake on a project. That one stings a little differently. It is one thing to be felled by a virus; viruses are impartial and do not care about your reputation. But a work mistake? That one you have to own. “Ugh” covers it, though it does not fully do it justice.
And then, the third blow: X/6 on Wordle. Failed. Did not get it. Six tries and a green square to show for it. “No!!!!” about sums it up.
Here is the thing, though. In the grand scheme of things, none of those three events was the end of the world. One was physically unpleasant, one required accountability and a course correction, and one was a five-letter word on a free puzzle app that I play on my phone before my feet hit the floor. And yet, the accumulation of them, the pile-up, can feel heavier than any single item deserves.
What do you do with that?
You take it on the chin.
The phrase comes from boxing. It describes what happens when a fighter takes a direct hit but does not go down. Does not make excuses. Does not quit. Just absorbs the blow and stays on their feet.
That is, it turns out, a pretty good life skill.
Not every setback requires a post-mortem or a pivot strategy or a heartfelt conversation about what went wrong. Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is acknowledge what happened, give yourself a moment to feel the “ew” and the “ugh” and the “No!!!!!” and then straighten up, take a breath, and get back to it.
Resilience does not always look like a comeback story. Sometimes it just looks like Tuesday.
The stomach bug passed. The mistake was corrected. And there is always tomorrow’s Wordle.
Happy Networking!