Setbacks are inevitable. Whether in your professional life or personal, there will be times where something stops you right in your tracks. Everything can seem perfect and you feel on top of the world one minute, then, suddenly the rug is swept right out from under your feet. You don’t get the promotion you thought you had in the bag, the huge meeting with a client was a flop, or you deal with a personal issue that can bring major hurt. No one is immune to setbacks, so we might as well figure out how to deal with and tackle them before they hinder your motivation to get yourself up and try again.
Let your setback be the platform for your comeback.
Here are four tips that I think are the most useful and helpful to get you get past the negativity that comes with obstacles and get you focused on making a comeback.
- Take time to acknowledge: Recognize the problem. So often we try to avoid the issue instead of facing it head on. Once you come to terms with the situation take time to process. Emotions and feelings are natural in these situations and it’s OKAY to take time to deal with them. Processing your emotions is very important so you can accept the situation and get control over your feelings before you do or say something you might regret. Taking the time to gather your feelings and identify the situation will successfully set you up for approaching the next step.
- Don’t panic: Jumping to conclusions will only lead to more setbacks. Panicking will hinder, not help the situation. Instead sit down and figure out the source of the problem. Write down the pros and cons, what worked, what didn’t, and what can be improved without being biased or pointing fingers. Writing down the facts and walking through the circumstances will help you assess the situation, learn from it, and help you figure out what the proper next moves are.
- BE POSITIVE: I get it. Being positive is sometimes nearly impossible to do when you feel discouraged and down in the dumps. Instead of focusing on the things that went wrong in situations try to look at the opportunities that might come out of it. Obviously we can’t live in lala land, but focusing on chances you still have will psychologically keep you on track. So put on your positive pants, people!
- Take control and move on: Once you take the time to collect your thoughts and evaluate the situation – it’s time to take action. Think positive and focus on the things that are within your control. There are going to be independent factors that are out of your hands that you cannot spend your time and energy focusing on. Take your leanings from the last setback and move forward with those tips and tricks, so the next time you have a setback (yes, let’s be honest with ourselves it’ll happen) you know how to effectively overcome it and move on!
These 4 steps are definitely not the end all be all for every setback that will come your way, but they will come as a guide to ensure your obstacles are merely a little bump in the road that you dust off your shoulders and never look back at. Just remember: If you get knocked down, get back up! When you get knocked down again, get back up AGAIN!
Check out the video below we produced for Mondelez on how they overcame a setback in the workplace and came out on top!
Written by: Grace Jenkins, Snippies Intern