One of the hardest pills to swallow is accepting that failure will always be part of our lives. The sooner we realize that, the better we learn to deal with it and improve our craft. However, not everyone travels the same road, especially when processing each letdown and turning it in our favor.
While failure can be life’s greatest teacher, coping with mistakes can also be overwhelming and detrimental. It may even lead to low self-esteem, unconscious self-sabotaging, and heightened stress affecting our emotional, mental and physical health. If this goes on, it may even block us from seeing our full potential.
Add in factors such as pressure, expectations, and judgment from others; bringing that motivation back and moving forward can be complicated. But while failure is inevitable, knowing how to handle it and understanding its impact on our thoughts and emotions can help us bounce back.
Plan for failure
We are trained to anticipate danger and avoid risky situations to escape harm or reduce its impact. This includes not playing with fire, putting a seatbelt on, and getting vaccinated. Thus, expecting mistakes and conditioning ourselves is no different than that. So, while we don’t want it to happen any time sooner, it would be best to train yourself to calm down and set realistic goals to keep you going.
Resist the temptation of panic as this will only create more chaos; instead, learn to pause and step back to help clear your mind. Brainstorm with your team and discuss what you would do in case of possible scenarios and job-related situations. Furthermore, it would be best to create long-term emergency plans to help you stay on track and achieve better results when the initial strategy backfires.
One way to do this is to paint the future you would want to achieve and go over factors that prevent you from achieving your goals. For example, if you lack self-control, consider what may contribute to this and eliminate them during your productive hours. This includes turning off your phone or logging out from social media to avoid getting sucked on an endless scroll, receiving unnecessary calls and texts and binge-watching your favorite drama. Remember, your present self is the enemy of the best version of you.
Create a diversion
Regardless of their severity, dealing with mistakes always comes with levels of stress and negativity, which can come from forces around you. This includes your work environment, people you interact with, habits you have, and even yourself. Processing them all together can exhaust your brain, preventing you from thinking straight and formulating practical solutions to your current situation.
A powerful way to combat this is by distracting your mind and redirecting it from toxic thoughts through grounding, learning a new skill, or investing in doing something you like. For example, spending time outdoors and observing your surroundings using your senses is a therapeutic way to help elevate your mood, reduce stress, and strengthen your immune system. Additionally, it enables you to become more present and alert, giving you a better understanding of the situation and what to do with it.
On the other hand, according to reports, having a hobby and spending a few minutes every day to enjoy it helps you have a better work performance and improve your physical health. So, when stress starts to strike, take time to go back to things you enjoy, whether by visiting museums nearby or knitting matching outfits using vintage sewing patterns and various designs. Anything that will make you feel you again, go with it.
Admit and reflect
More often than not, we react to situations based on what we feel about the information we have during that time. The pressure becomes too much that the brain creates an easy way out, which resorts to harmful and toxic outcomes, including violence, blaming others, developing eating disorders, substance and alcohol abuse, and other self-destructing behaviors. Additionally, all of these clouds our judgment preventing us from seeing the elephant in the room.
Addressing the problem comes with admitting your own mistakes and taking responsibility for it. And while this may be hard for others and would take a lot of courage, the results will be equally rewarding as this will help you backtrack and learn where it all went wrong. In addition, reflecting will help you become more self-aware and pull yourself out from falling into a downward spiral crucial for your growth and development. Failure is an inevitable part of life that can either make or break us. So, learn to overcome them properly and establish a better coping method to help fulfill your dreams and reach your goals in
