Personal Development

How to Bounce Back From Failure

We all encounter failure. Whether we want to admit it or not, it’s the truth. Goals are missed. Sales numbers aren’t hit. It just happens. Sometimes, it is because of mistakes we made, and other times, it is due to circumstances outside of our control. I personally believe that it is in times of failure, that the most important lessons are learned. You find the drive within yourself to get back up, to persevere, to keep going. 

One thing that matters most when I think about long-term success is resiliency. Whether you are an entrepreneur, business leader, parent, spouse, resilience is one trait that is critical to overcoming obstacles and achieving your goals. Other traits can take you a long way. Resilience is what gets you back up when life knocks you down. 

It can be tempting at the start of the year to jump into your new goals planning to “power through” until you achieve them. The pitfall in this thinking is that it doesn’t take into account what you will do when a setback comes along. When some of the initial excitement wears off, it takes a mindset of resilience to keep going. 

Resilience is a choice. Each time you encounter a setback, you have the choice to either quit or keep trying. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed or to have a moment of fear. What matters is what you do next. Do you let fear overwhelm you? Or do you lean in and keep going? 

Here are three practical strategies you can use to bounce back when you encounter adversity. 

  1. Keep a written record of your wins. Keep a daily or weekly record of your biggest accomplishments that week. It’s an important habit that will help you have the confidence in yourself. It can be easy to let the things that went wrong cloud your perspective. By keeping a written list of your wins from the week, you are creating a tangible reminder of what you did well. 
  2. Stay focused on the objective. If you’re a high achiever, failure is inevitable. The key is to step back and reevaluate what is working and what isn’t, make the necessary changes, and try again. Resilient people see failure as a detour along the way.
  3. Take care of your health. Problems are a lot more overwhelming when you are sleep-deprived or hungry. Developing healthy habits when it comes to sleep, exercise, and eating will ensure that your body has the energy it needs to overcome resistance. 

The more challenges you overcome, the more confidence you will gain. You have what it takes to get back up and get in the game, no matter what knocks you down.

Last modified on October 10th, 2022 at 10:33 am

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