A large, potted tomato plant fell off my deck in a powerful thunderstorm last night. Several long branches broke off completely. They were laden with green tomatoes.

Several other branches were partially broken, and I taped and splinted them up to the best of my ability.

The plant, suffering what is basically a catastrophic setback, will continue on.

It will repair its injuries.

The green fruit will turn red. And all the little yellow flowers will turn into tomatoes.

It will probably slow down — there won’t be as many new tomatoes as there would have been if it didn’t fall. But it will go forth and produce. It will persevere.

Now you: What do you do when you suffer a serious setback? Not a catastrophic one, like the plant is going through, but only a serious one?

How far does it set you back?

For how long?

Do you shut down?

Do you get depressed?

All of these responses are okay, so long as they’re fast, and you recover quickly. I’m talking a day or two, not a week or two.

Today, whether you are in business or have a job, recovery is everything.

Success basically comes down to perseverance, which I define as continuing to take the right actions in the face of serious adversity.

The tomato plant perseveres.

Do you?