LjjSpeaks: Blogpost - What To Do When Your Bootstraps Break | Lynne Jarman-Johnson

By Lynne Jarman-Johnson

February 27, 2010

When The Bootstrap Breaks

We’ve heard the term, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps.”   Where did it come from and does it accurately give us inspiration to improve our own situations by our own efforts?  In 1922 James Joyce wrote in Ulysses*: 

"There were others who had forced their way to the top from the lowest rung by the aid of their bootstraps."  

This is most likely the first time “the bootstrap” was put in written form as a motivational tool.

What happens when the bootstrap breaks?  Why can some people pull themselves out of the most horrific, awkward, confusing, scary, life-threatening, bottom of the barrel situations and others cannot get a leg up?

I believe that there are those that won’t help themselves even if they have the tools to do so. I also think that there are those that receive the tools but have never been taught the steps to feel the pride from success shine from their heart to their eyes, so they stay in the same situation, or fall lower.  Yet, I think the overwhelming majority of us who find ourselves facing something that is uncomfortable or negative simply do not know how or when to ask for help.  

Just the term “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” says, “Do it yourself. Don’t ask for help.”  What we need to do is be open and honest on every level. We need to face our situation and understand it and show that we have the gumption to get out of the mess.  We need to share our fears and our hopes and dreams.  We need to lay everything out on the table.

Once we start to pull ourselves up it’s time to reach out and ask for a hand up.  (This my friend is not the same as a hand out) 

How do you mend a broken bootstrap: 

1) Face the reality of your situation and show you are taking steps to fix it. 

2) Don’t be afraid to let others learn about your situation and help where they can.

3) Communicate openly and honestly every step of the way. 

4) Stop the blame game.

5) Thank those who help you.

A bootstrap can be broken. It can also be mended. We’re all in this together.  Thanks to all of you who help me out every day.  I’ve got some amazingly strong bootstraps thanks to you! 

*Phrase Finder:  http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/290800.html

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