Edition: August 11th, 2021
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
- Excerpts from article by Ashna Dhanuka, published on peoplematters.in
Setbacks are a normal part of life and one may encounter them in the path to success. Even the biggest achievers at work experience impediments.
While some setbacks are small, others can make you feel like the world is crumbling. Although most fall somewhere in between.
Regardless of the setback, there are ways that can help you shed the feeling of having failed, set yourself up and push ahead with energy.
If you’re not encountering setbacks, it means you aren’t challenging yourself. Push yourself to seek out new challenges, and doing so means that you’ll occasionally stumble and fail, however, consider this part of the process. Your true long-term goal should be constant forward progress and growth.
Here are some simple techniques to overcome setbacks and make you realise that every day is a new beginning:
1. Acknowledge the ‘failure’
- It’s okay to feel disappointed after a setback, in fact, it is almost necessary. Pretending that you are not upset will not make it go away.
- Addressing the elephant in the room and putting the issue to rest openly is an elegant way to handle failure, instead of acting as if nothing wrong happened.
- Don’t ignore the issue, tackle it head on.
2. Choose to look at the brighter side of the situation
- Mindsets are a choice. Always choose to look at the brighter side of any situation.
- This is where your imagination and creativity comes into play.
- If you were to think about this issue in an entirely opposite way, what would that look like?
- Instead of treating it as a roadblock, consider it a good turn in your journey.
3. Learn from your mistake
- It’s never too late to learn. We learn new things each day.
- Once you’re back on the right track give it some time and learn from your past experiences so you don’t repeat them again.
- True learning is devoid of blaming and judgments.
- Ask yourself what went wrong, and what can be done to avoid it in the future.
4. Take motivation from your support system
- You’re not alone. You can lean for help on colleagues, friends or family, and in case that’s not an option, you can always seek therapy.
- Lean into relationships when you need them and ask for support.
- A robust support system can help you get through frustrations and setbacks, and one of the best indicators of job satisfaction is the relationships you build with colleagues, bosses and others at your work.
- Be transparent & communicate, tell them how the issue is affecting you.
- No one expects you to be superhuman so don’t expect that of yourself.
5. Make peace with your setback
- Suffering a setback at work doesn’t make you a failure, in fact, it’s just part of life.
- Change your internal dialogue, don’t put yourself down, and don’t dwell on what you can’t control or solve.
- Whatever happens, you need to realise that it’s not going to determine who you are or who you will be in the future.
- Everyone makes mistakes and it’s about how you learn from them that counts.
6. Move on to new learning and challenges
- It’s easier said than done, but you cannot keep clinging to old issues.
- You need to view the setback as a ‘small hindrance’ and move on from it.
- New opportunities don’t usually present themselves right away, of course, and it can be hard to spot them through the fog of anger and disappointment in the early days after a setback.
- But you need to let go, regain your confidence and be back in the game!
Careers are marathons, not sprints. You’re unlikely to recall most of your setbacks within a few years. They are merely passing markers on your long road to success.
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(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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