The Captain
I've said this before, I'll say it again. You never really fail if you get up and try again. Yet it's not as easy as jumping back up and starting were you left off. Once you're down you need to regain stable footing. Let's look at history, the Titanic. This ship had everything going for it. It was lavish, well built and had support from almost everyone. But it had one big issue. The captain directing the ship was focused on the wrong objective. He was worried more about speed than the journey. He wasn't focused on safe passage. He took the short path and it didn't pay off. Now let's imagine this ship didn't sink, let's imagine he just damaged it. Now you are the damaged ship and your conscience is the captain. What do we fix first?
A lot would say the ship needs to be fixed, you have damaged it. But who's call is that to make? Who has the authority and responsibility to radio in for help? The captain. Problem is our captain is shameful right now and he's hiding. Now anyone on that ship would tell you. "Dude, just call in for help. It's really cold in those waters and uh... don't know if you've noticed but we are kinda short on life vests and boats." However our captain is in panic mode. He's let everyone down, he sees the impending reprimand from all eyes watching him. So he shuts down into a denial mode.
The captain, or your mindset, must change before anything else does. It allows for proper response and finding solutions to the problem at hand. The captain in my first scenario is allowing for the damage to continue and spread by lack of action. But what if the moment the captain registered I made a mistake, he thought to himself, what can I do to fix this or at least prevent further damage? He would have called in for help, explained what happened, and as soon as he finished doing that he would asses the damage of the ship so he could work on either a solution or a repair. For certain people would be angry, but it is how he handles himself in that moment that is his new chance to define his character. Yes it is not a great place to start, but it is the only place to start.
As an onlooker to any problem we can spell out the the issue and solution in black and white print. But as the captain it is gray, blurry and smudged with emotions. A broken captain can not fix a damaged ship, just as a broken mindset can not fix a damaged life. But what if you didn't do anything wrong at all? Life just wasn't kind to you and you found yourself in a bad situation? Is it still the same thing?... Unfortunately, yes.
In 2009 Captain Chesley Sullenberger, or Captain Sully as most of us remember him, landed a plane on the Hudson after loosing control of his aircraft due to natural and unlucky causes. He knew something was wrong, followed procedure, asked for help and he used his better judgment to decide the best course of action. Now Sully performed a heroic landing that day, but it is not the landing I am idolizing. It is the thought process. He could have froze up and done nothing, but he knew better. He knew inaction would not solve the problem so he started looking for viable options that resided in his mind and he ended up picking the only one that would save him, his passengers, crew members, and probably anyone who could have been affected by the crash. No one would have blamed him if he crashed. Quite honestly the odds weren't in his favor, but that is the power of the mind, he was able to do what most would "think" is impossible.
Captain Sully, although a hero, is like all of us, a human. So when he landed on the Hudson he knew he couldn't done a cape and take all the passengers to safety like Superman. He had called in for help and back-up, because he recognized it was the best way to get him and the rest of the flight out of cold water and to dry land and safety. There it is, even heroes ask for help.
If you encounter struggles due to consequences of you own actions or due to unexpected life happenstances, you are your own captain. It's never always going to be smooth sailing but you have the power. Your reaction will have a ripple affect, you can help control what that will look like and wether it is positive or negative. Earlier I referred to the captain as the conscience. It is important to nurture him or her with positivity and challenge them to be stronger so you can be prepared for impact. Life is hard, but everyday you have the power to change for the better, it's your judgement call to make. Like the Bible states "give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isaiah 61:3 King James Version). Lightly put, God gives beauty where destruction and hopelessness had once resided. It all starts with you.