Life is crazy. Sometimes it is beautiful and amazing—you feel like you’ve got things worked out, and you’re specifically where you’re meant to be. However sometimes, it’s hard, difficult, tragic, and awful, and you can’t imagine how you’re going to take one more step forward.

At numerous points in our lives, we are all met with setbacks, failures, and obstacles. Some are small, like a speedbump, just enough to slow us down. Some are huge, like a wall, and stop us entirely in our tracks. But while difficult, challenging, and often heartbreaking, all of them give us an opportunity—an opportunity to pause, restart, reflect, learn, grow, and reshape our lives. And overcoming setbacks is just a fight for a comeback.

Why do setbacks happen?

An increase in physical or mental stress may be the reason you haven’t achieved success. Other kinds of stress, such as work or family problems, can also leave you feeling drained and less able to cope.

How to Deal with Setbacks

1. Expect Discomfort. Like playing a new sport or a musical instrument, it takes practice to do something new. 
2. Have a Positive Attitude.
3. Watch and Learn. 
4. Be Responsible.
5. Accept Constructive Criticism. 
6. Ask Questions and Connect with Others. 
7. Take Good Care of Yourself.

What are professional setbacks?

Career setbacks can come in many different forms — you’re passed over for a promotion, you miss out on a big project, you’re disciplined and it goes on your record — and most people experience at least one over the course of their career.

Why are setbacks necessary in life?

Setbacks allow us to return to our original state of motivation and hard work that led to our success in the first place, but only if we are strong enough to not let them destroy our confidence, and if we can be honest with ourselves about why they might’ve happened in the first place.

Why do we have setbacks?

Setbacks are designed to protect things. For instance, a setback between a building and the road protects the road from snow drifts or protects sight lines at a driveway or an intersection. Setbacks on how close you can spread manure to a creek, lake, or river help protect surface water quality.

What do setbacks teach?

Focus on what you can learn from the failure. Failures can teach you so much about yourself, your impact on the world, and how you may not be in alignment with who you are. Overcoming setbacks teaches us fighting spirits as well.

How do you gain confidence after a setback?

Ways to improve your self-confidence after a major setback in your life.

1. Don’t Take it Personally. In many cases, when something goes wrong we take it personally.
2. Reflect on Your Accomplishments.
3. Forgive Yourself. 
4. Dust Off and Move On.

What is a setback at work?

Career setbacks can come in many different forms — you’re passed over for a promotion, you miss out on a big project, a lot more things — and most people experience at least one over the course of their career. Overcoming work-related setbacks requires a lot of patience.

A setback is an event that makes you lose progress or keeps you from gaining ground. If you’re knitting a sweater, dropping a bunch of stitches would be a big setback. If warring countries are negotiating a treaty, a sudden resurgence of fighting would be a huge setback for their peace plan.

What are major setbacks in life?

Personal setbacks might include injuries, illness, mental health issues such as anxiety or depression, relationship challenges including breakups, divorce, and fights with those you love. This also includes loss of all types: a partner, child, or loved one, a job or home, a hope or dream.

Steps to overcome setbacks

•  Start with a minor source of uneasiness: When we move out of our core competency, we often feel vulnerable and weak, not unlike how we feel when confronted with a setback. We no longer feel in control because we don’t have the right answers or feel uncertain about our choices.

• Pinpoint where your fear is coming from: When you experience stress or anxiety that is produced from fear, your brain’s amygdala triggers negative emotions. When this happens, observe your thoughts and feelings but don’t chase them! Take a deep breath and ask yourself, “Have I overreacted? What triggered this response?”

•  Get to know your fear: Don’t hesitate to pinpoint your fear and spend a little time with it. The more you get to know it, the better you can control it.

• Get comfortable with your discomfort: Don’t look at setbacks as failures because this attitude distorts your view of reality. Without a clear perception of reality, you can’t see how to pivot, solve, or make progress around a setback.

• Expect the worst: Distinguish between setbacks and roadblocks. Setbacks can slow you down but won’t actually stop you. Roadblocks are like strips of flypaper — you get caught and they can threaten your progress. Because both setbacks and roadblocks are unavoidable, build extra fluff time into your daily schedule. If every last minute is chock full of meetings and deadlines, a little blunder or miscalculation can disrupt your entire day.

Are setbacks and failures the same?

Setbacks are slight deviations from the path you thought you had to take until you come around to the path you were meant to take. A setback is something we learn from. We re-strategize and you re-engage Setbacks make us stronger. Failure only truly happens when we stop.

How can setbacks lead to future success?

Setbacks can make us pause and take stock, follow new paths, meet new people, learn new skills, and try things out that we wouldn’t otherwise have done. They also tend to build personal qualities such as resilience, coping skills, and empathy. Overcoming setbacks makes us more capable in life to deal with any situation.