Setbacks in life are inevitable so how do we overcome a setback?
Often uncertainty and change bring people to low points in their lives.
Shifts in company policies, compensation plans or the closure of a direct selling company have caused resentment against all direct selling companies. Leadership is especially critical at times like these.
How can we help ourselves and our team weather the storm?
4 Tips To Overcome A Setback
Here are tips that will help you to overcome a setback in business or in your personal life.
- Be patient with yourself: Change, setbacks and uncertainty are scary. When changes or difficult times shake up things around you, you need to hold steady. Success comes from cool-headed thinking, clear focus and well-aimed action. Adopt a positive, can-do attitude concerning the challenges you face. Behaviors are very contagious, both positive and negative. If you can stay upbeat so will the people around you. A lot of today’s problems are actually caused by yesterday’s solutions. Using the same old tools, techniques and thinking patterns won’t cut it. What got you here today will not likely get you where you want to go in the future.
- Recover quickly: Resistance to change is a dead-end street. Organizations want people who adapt fast, not those who resist. I have fallen into this one. Quickly align yourself and your team with new needs and realities. Take personal responsibility for figuring out the top priorities, and then point yourself in that direction. Operate with a strong sense of urgency. Emphasize action. Don’t get bogged down in endless preparation trying to get things perfect before you make a move. Figure out for yourself what is needed and move toward it. Put yourself in charge of problem solving and enlist the support of those around you to come up with solutions. As the leader, don’t feel you have to have all the answers.
- Notice the Opportunities: Opportunity often comes disguised as trouble and problems. The way you think – the way you frame the situation – heavily influences your ability to deal with tough problems. Look beyond the bleakness of the moment and envision a brighter tomorrow. Think in terms of possibilities rather than limits. Open yourself up to the possibility of growing through the challenges and know that you will be better for going through the challenges.
- Commit Fully: Expect that more is going to be expected of you. There’s no room now for those who only give half-hearted efforts. If you can’t commit rapidly when your organization changes you should probably quit. Commit completely to what you are involved in. Be it your relationships, your business, work or career and your personal growth. Whatever it is be committed to it without reservation.
Everyone goes through periods in their lives when they feel stepped on and emotionally crushed. Sometimes the emotional pain is worse than any physical pain you can imagine. Trying to find happiness, trying to find even a smidgen of joy sometimes can be difficult.
How fast will you recover this time compared to last time?
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Grasp at the positive, no matter how faint or how far off it may seem. Find one thought that makes you feel a little tiny bit better.
- “I have a roof over my head.”
- “I have my family and people who love me.”
Try not to let yourself become overwhelmed with negative feelings or they will bury you in an avalanche of despair from which it’s hard to dig yourself out. Keep grasping at thoughts that put you in a better position than you initially saw yourself. Make a list of what you still have that’s important to you or that makes you feel good, safe, or secure.
When you do this, you begin to create the momentum for all your future troubles.
You can begin to see that the last time something like this happened to you it did not take as long to get back up on the horse to ride again.
So feel the emotion, make a choice to get back in the game and recover quicker this time than you did the last.
As you focus more on your recovery time and solutions you are likely to discover that people are connecting with you because they can see that your attitude is the kind that people want to follow and learn from.
Be aware of your recovery time and put away that hammer that does not help you get to your goals.
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I have been in my second direct sales venture since Dec 2012. I love the company and its products. Just trying to find a way to connect with people. Sometimes you do get down but this time I am not going to let it set me down. This article was great for your self esteem.