While I worked at a rehab for drug and alcohol addiction, I had a saying that I loved to use to encourage others after they’ve relapsed. Often times, after relapse, I noticed that people would become depressed and lose their motivation or momentum that they spent so much time developing for their recovery. It’s natural for us to be disappointed with ourselves after making a mistake but we do not want this disappointment to develop into a long lasting attitude. It is important that we adjust our perspective quickly. When I noticed this happening, I would tell that person “try to not be so hard on yourself. Nobody is perfect and everybody falls down, but not everyone gets back up”. When I said this, I made sure to really look into their eyes and place importance on the latter part of that saying, “not everyone gets back up”. This encourages your listener to see the opportunity they have to be one of the few that decide they will be getting back up. It’s important that we realize that everyone makes mistakes and that we are no exception. Knowing this, we should not only account for our future mistakes but also our perception on how we’ll recover and grow from it. I’m big on metaphors and illustrations. So while I love hearing people tell other’s to get back on the horse, I am heartbroken by their failure to follow up with great suggestions on how to do this. Here are a couple tips I’ve created for you on getting back on that figurative horse.