JANUARY 13, 2023
What do you do when you have a setback or failures in life? What lesson can you learn from your setbacks that will help you through the tough times? Will you learn (or maybe re-learn) what to do the next time or will you continue to make the same mistake over and over again resulting in insanity? Tough questions for many of us as we tend to go through life letting things happen to us and not learning our lesson in make the same mistake twice. (Or more) I tend to look at setbacks as small, medium and large. What do we do with the bigger ones? What do we do when the wheels come off?
First, expect to have setbacks in life but don’t become paranoid where you don’t prepare for the inevitable. This is how we learn. (Or not) Things will not always go the way you want them to. Please don’t let your circumstances paralyze you. Don’t make light of a setback because it can be very painful. Don’t stuff the pain. Deal with it by checking in with a mentor or a good friend that will challenge our thinking which in turn, might impact our behavior. I hope you can learn something about yourself when you have setbacks. NO one will have a perfect life. Hopefully, your setback will result in increasing the size of your heart by your compassion, empathy, and understanding in reaching out to others. If you don’t understand, then you are missing out on a chance to grow as a person. This may be the time to learn about yourself as to WHO you are and WHO you are becoming. Here is your chance to fight your own battle with the help and support of others.
I dislike setbacks as much as anyone, but I don’t waste my time by brooding over my dilemma. Yes, I can grieve and feel sorry for myself because of something I have lost or something that went terribly wrong. But I need to move on by talking with others, praying, and being honest about my own fallacies. Look at what you learned as a gift. There just might be that light at the end of the tunnel and it is open to YOU if you choose to look closely enough. If you are an optimist, you need to recognize that you will have setbacks but keep looking for the light. It might come in the form of a person or a spirit that you feel. Don’t try and rush the answer. Be patient. Don’t play the victim as others have gone through similar or worse things than you. Just make sure you can talk to someone honestly about your problem that understands and appreciates what you are going through.
Once you find that friend, don’t worry about them trying to fix your problem. Just listen to their words and their concern which will bring about HOPE. Hope for a better tomorrow and hope for joy and happiness to return. Finally, remember that God loves you just the way you are. Don’t take that for granted. Be thankful you have strong relationships that you can lean on when times are tough. Turn your setbacks into opportunities to share with others. They may be going through similar circumstances and could use your strength to help them through their own tough situation. Remember; life was never meant to be lived alone.
Elevator Guy
Quote for the Day; “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” Emma Watson