Bouncing Back: How can setback be turned into success

All too often we find ourselves with the dreaded undesired result- failure. Whether it be the failure to secure a potential client or failure to meet a certain metric, we have all met the sour taste of setbacks at one time or another. What can we do to find the silver lining in the situation?

First of all, we have to simmer at the moment but work to push past this event, according to Charles Stoner in his article Leader Rebound: How Successful Managers Bounce Back from Tests of Adversity, “[They] did not simply “get through” adversity; theirs was an active role of steadily working through this stage” suggesting that while it may feel necessary to want to go just wallow in the moment and be defined by the singular outcome, the ability to push past these feelings is important to not only returning to normal but to also keep away the depressing feelings that may come with the outcome of failure (Stoner, 2002). The ability to successfully see that one outcome does not determine the course of a project, semester, venture, or investment can be a powerful tool when approaching a negative situation. Sherry Wang echoes this concept in her article Understanding the Psychology of Failure: Failing Is an Essential Prerequisite for Success stating, “Our future success is determined by how we respond to failure. It is important to know that the adaptive responses to failure can be taught and learned” indicating that people can learn helplessness and a strong locus of control, it all boils down to how someone reacts to their shortcomings (Wang, 2021).

By seeing a failure as a challenge rather than what is usually seen, as a dead end, individuals can bounce back from failure and see what can be done to overcome such a challenge. instead of seeing a situation as a failure (unable to secure a client) see it as a challenge (how can I line up more potential clients so I have more options to follow up on?). While it might feel hard to change your mindset to something like this, it would do more damage to be in a constant state of “I will never get better than this”, inert in the failure and paralyzed to make another move. Despite feeling the sting of failure, we move forward and try again, to do nothing would be the true failure.

If you need a little assistance to get you back on track, contact MendEd Solutions and we’ll work with you to get the pep back in your step.