There is a game – an app – that I play on my mobile phone, from time to time, called “Toy Blast”. It is a challenging game wherein you have to pass through various levels of puzzle boards to move forward, and you earn various types of “crowns”, in cycles, that come with benefits and advantages to use in the next level. If you fail to clear the puzzle board in your allotted number of moves,…when the counter gets to zero…a message comes up that says ”If you give up, you will lose your crown”. You can then either choose to try again (losing the crown you had previously earned), or you can continue to play by purchasing more moves using gold coins you have earned in the game. Sometimes you don’t have any gold coins to spend. You have run out. So, you are faced with the sole choice to give up, click “Try Again”, lose your crown and start that level over.
If you give up,…you will lose your crown.
A powerful statement.
In our lives, we are often taught to never give up. To not back down. To not accept defeat. To be the best we can be, keep fighting and not sacrifice. Don’t let go of what you have earned. Stand up for yourself. These are inspirational thoughts and the advice they convey is one of fortitude and personal pride. Take what is yours and hang on to it. Don’t let anyone take away what makes you “you”. Never let go of what you have worked so hard to achieve and own, because it is your hard work and strength that got you where you are and who you are. However, this is not how I take this statement.
If you give up,…you will lose your crown.
I don’t see this as a threat,…but rather as an invitation.
Sometimes, life will present you with a challenge or roadblock…where the only choice you have is to give up what you have and start over again. Sometimes, you have to lay down your crown and walk away…and try again to earn it back. This does not mean we are ”giving up”. It means we are accepting that we have to sacrifice to move forward. We have to let go of our position, accolades or possessions – and start over, find a new path and get back to where we were.
Try again. This is resilience.
True resilience is not just standing strong against the hurricane and protecting your house from blowing down. It is sometimes recognizing that the storm is stronger than we are, accepting that, watching your house blow down and then clearing the ground after the storm, picking up the first brick…and building it all over again.
Don’t give up when you are faced with challenges, difficulties or injustice – but also don’t accept defeat when life overtakes you. Stand back up, dust yourself off, and start over again. This is an invitation and an opportunity.
- Trying again offers you the gift of finding a better way of doing something.
- Trying again offers you the gift of discovering new strengths within yourself.
- Trying again offers you the gift of appreciating what you are building or achieving in a much deeper or meaningful way.
- Trying again offers you the gift of finding out what it is you really need back in your life, and what you can let go of.
If you give up,…you will lose your crown.
Right on. I will lay down my crown, and try again – because I am strong enough to earn it back, and do it better this time!