Bouncing back from failure

We have all encountered failure at some point in our lives. Not everyone will admit but it’s true. Sometimes we set goals and we miss to achieve them. We do not hit the sales as expected. This can be due to the mistakes we make or circumstances that are out of our control. Personally, I believe that it is in times of failure that the most lessons are learned. We always find the drive within us to get back up, to persevere, and to keep going no matter what.

If you ever think of long-term success, then resilience should be your everyday friend. Whether you are a business leader, entrepreneur, parent, teacher, spouse, resilience is one trait that is critical to overcoming obstacles and achieving your goals. Of course there are other traits that can take you a long way. Resilience gets you back up when life challenges knock you down.

Every New Year, we are all tempted to jump at new goals planning with the determination to power through until we achieve them. The pitfall however, is that most of us do not take into account what we will do when a setback comes along. What if the initial excitement wears off? Only a mindset of resilience can keep going.

We all got choices. Resilience too is a choice. Each time you encounter a setback, you have two choices. To quit or keep trying. I must tell you that the choice will not always be easy. We will have moments of fear and feel overwhelmed. What matters is what you do next. Do you let fear overwhelm you or lean in and keep going? Here are three practical strategies we can use to bounce back when we encounter adversity. 

Write down your wins and keep a record of them

Daily or weekly, depending on what works for you, write down the biggest accomplishments and milestones. This habit will help build confidence in ourselves. It is very easy to let things that went wrong cloud our perspective and forget our successes. By keeping a written list of wins from the week, we create tangible reminders of what we did well. 

Focus on the objective

If you are a high achiever, failure is inevitable. The key is to step back and reevaluate what is working and what is not, make the necessary changes, and try again. Resilient people see failure as a detour along the way.

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.