If you ever attempted to give exceptional service and it blew up in your face, what did you do to pick yourself back up again and make the next attempt bear a positive outcome? Do you practice self-talk?

Do you have the ability to say, “better luck next time?” As with anything in life, when you fail it provides an opportunity to succeed the next time.

If you would bear with me, I would like to share a personal experience and life lesson that my mother taught when I was about 9 years old. It made such an impact on me and has been a guiding principle for me to follow throughout my life.

In fact, the other day I was telling my brother about this article and this story I was going to share. He remembered the experience as well. So let’s begin – I was raised on a horse ranch, farm and dairy.

My mother was the driving force with regard to the horses. From as young as I can remember, horses were a very integral part of my life. One early spring on a Saturday afternoon, a couple of us younger children, there are seven children in my family, went out riding our horses in the pasture with my mother overseeing the process.

I was riding alone and was riding bareback on one of our best horses named Busey Mae, a sorrow quarter horse. Now, in the spring when the horses have had a long winter and have been ridden less than the rest of the year, they are a little excited, anxious and sometimes tempermental. This day would prove to be the case for my horse.

I started out walking along side of my brother and sister, who were riding together on their horse. Because I have a tendency to go full speed ahead, I decided that walking wasn’t enough and I began to gallop. In this pasture where holstien dairy cows would typically spend a part of the day, had lots of remnants left from the cow’s bodily function. It wasn’t long that after I began to gallop, that I came upon an irrigation covert, which is a mini ditch. I jumped this obstacle thus protecting my horse from tripping.

We cleared the covert and continued galloping, Busey Mae began to buck. She bucked once, and I stayed on but the second buck was stronger. I was thrown to land flat on my face in the pasture, and my arm hit square into a cow manure pile. It is funny now, not so much to the ego of a 9 year old in front of my younger siblings.

I was furious and went stomping off to my mother about what that stupid horse did to me. My mother, to my relief did not laugh, but firmly told me to get back on that horse and get back on now! I cleaned my arm and wiped my tears off my face and did what she told and taught me to do.

So let’s take the symbolism of this story and make it apply perhaps to one of your experiences. First off, when you or your horse are rusty and haven’t been exercised for a period of time, you may find yourself not to be as patient or understanding. Even when you are giving your best, and your intentions are in the right place, the person may not accept your service.

When a service experience goes south and you need it to go north you may have to get thrown in order to learn some humility on how to turn the situation around. You can’t let your ego or pride get in the way of your personal growth. The best way to turn the situation around is to get back on that horse!

I am so grateful for that lesson! Whenever things have not gone as I have planned or minor and major disappointments have occurred; I learned a valuable lesson. That lesson is to get back on when I have been bucked off and I have experienced success and victory time and time again.

Don’t let discouragement or failure drag you down. Do what it takes to pick yourself up again and try, try, try. As Thomas Edison remarked, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10000 ways that won’t work.” May you have the courage to keep trying to achieve the success that is possible!