Don’t Let Setback and Failure Disrupt Your Life

Don’t Let Setback and Failure Disrupt Your Life

We all have setbacks and fail from time to time, but do we let it linger? According to Dr. Michael F. Steger in his book "Meaning in Life: The Creation of Fulfillment", "Setbacks and failures are a normal part of life, but for many professionals, they can be so emotionally charged that they linger in their lives, preventing them from moving past and achieving success."

Setbacks and failures are mentally draining and can cause us to focus on what we’ve lost. However, there are some practical steps that we can take to overcome this disruption.

Here are six steps you can take to avoid allowing setbacks and failure to disrupt your life:

1. Acknowledge Your Emotions: It is important to recognize and accept your feelings when faced with a setback or failure. It’s okay to feel disappointed, frustrated, or angry.

2. Take Time To Reflect: Reflection can be a powerful tool to help you process difficult emotions. Take the time to think about the failure and consider the lessons you can learn from it.

3. Set Achievable Goals: Break down your goals into smaller, more manageable pieces. This will help you to stay motivated and focused on the task at hand.

4. Reach Out For Support: Talk to a friend, mentor, or therapist who can provide emotional support and guidance.

5. Take Action: After reflecting and setting achievable goals, it is important to act. You can start to move forward by taking small steps in the right direction.

6. Finally, Celebrate Your Successes: Celebrate each accomplishment, no matter how small. This will help to boost your morale and encourage you to keep going.

🚀Weekly Growth Tip: What has worked for me is to allow my actions to lead my thoughts. What I mean is, our thoughts have a harder time letting go, but our actions can help move us forward much faster. So, we should act like we’ve moved on and drag our thoughts and emotions along until we get emotionally past the setback or failure.

Dr. Mark Goulston states it another way in his book "Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone", "Failure can be an opportunity to learn and grow, but it can also paralyze us and prevent us from moving forward."  So, you should "Take a deep breath, and then focus on what you can do now to move in the right direction. Make a plan, set goals, and take action. It is important to remember that failure does not define you; it is how you choose to respond to it that counts."

So, you should simply acknowledge the failure, ask yourself what you’ve learned from it, and then move on. Because “This too shall pass”.

I hope this helps. Follow me on LinkedIn for more growth tips and start fueling your growth today.