A knock down is not necessarily a defeat. If it were, every boxer would hang up their gloves.

Knock downs only become a defeat when we stay down and refuse to get up. Although every boxer expects to be hit, he still strives to avoid the punches of his opponent. He does not enjoy being punched, but he learns how to take it. A boxer develops his ability to take a punch in the gym through sparring rounds in everyday training, not during an actual fight. He prepares himself for the biggest fight of his life. Ready or not, life can really pack a punch.

Disappointments, failures, sadness and sickness are things that we have all experienced. These are a part of life’s learning process. Without these experiences instead of us developing an iron jaw we would have a glass jaw.

In life, we cannot have a glass jaw – it will shatter at first impact.

The fight is never over until either one boxer gives in or the bell rings. Since we haven’t heard the bell, there are some things we should consider.

If we are going to recover from the punches of life, we must first accept the fact that faults and failures are a part of life. In fact, look around; we are surrounded by people who have failed  and will continue to have moments of failure.

But we can’t allow our failures to dictate future attempts. We can’t get up by dwelling on past failures. When you fall, dust yourself off and get back up. If your neighbor falls, help them up. In order to get back on our feet, we must recognize and take responsibility for our failures. Never dwell in the past, instead aim for the future.

Let me warn you, there are risks involved when trying to live again. So, brush yourself off by doing something that pushes you toward your future. Don’t just think about trying again, take action. Learn from your past failures and mistakes. Do not sit among those who want to kill your dreams, hope, and purpose.

Refuse to delay your destiny by negative words of critics and naysayers. We must go ahead with our lives. Knowing what we know now, if we could go back and make a different decision, we would. But we can’t go back, we can only move forward.

There’s a scene in Rocky V where Rocky seemed to be losing the fight. He’s on the mat and about to give up. But then he hears the voice of his old trainer, Mickey, saying, “Get up, get up ya bum, Mickey loves you.”

Well, to all of you who have experienced an agonizing defeat, despite the reason, listen to these words: Get up, get up, because God loves you.

During national recovery month let us remember that although we may have been knocked down, we haven’t been knocked out. Get up and try to live again.