It’s the bouncing back part that can be hard and sometimes seem impossible. I work with clients to help them get up and begin to utilize the power of growing from life’s failures. If you’re in this lay down and stay down moment, I encourage you to get support to and get up and move forward and eventually bounce back.
How to Bounce Back After Failure or Mistakes
1. Acknowledge Your Feelings
The first step is to acknowledge your emotions. It is normal and healthy to feel lots of emotions, disappointment, frustration, confusion, or even embarrassment after a making a mistake or having a failure. Allow yourself to feel these emotions without judgment. Know it’s normal and our body and mind’s way of dealing with this. Journaling or talking to a trusted person can help you process what you’re going through.
2. Practice Self-Compassion
Be kind to especially yourself. Remember and embrace the fact that everyone makes mistakes. Failure is a universal experience we all have. Be aware of your self-talk. Work to reframe any negative self-talk. Treat yourself with the same love and compassion you would offer another close friend or family member facing a similar situation.
3. Reflect on What Happened
After you’ve taken time to feel all the feels, feeling all of the strong emotions. Then we want to shift focus to reflection. Take time to review and analyze the situation objectively – ideally without judgement or emotion. Review questions to ponder:
- What went happened? Identify what happened, what led to and contributed to the mistake/failure?
- What could’ve been done differently? Consider alternative actions or decisions that might have led to a different outcome. Asking for feedback and ideas from others is a great way to help deepen the reflection.
4. Look for lessons learned and opportunities for growth
Mistakes and failures are opportunities to grow your resilience. Failure and mistake carry great learning and growth opportunities if we let them.
Ask yourself the following:
- What can I learn from this failure/mistake?
- How might I grow from this experience?
- What opportunity or blessing might there be in this?
- Be sure to write down your new insights.
5. Shift Your Mindset to a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset can make a significant difference in how you bounce back. Instead of viewing failure as a permanent setback and reliving the failure, see it as a temporary challenge that can lead to growth. Remind yourself that many successful people have faced failure and used it as a springboard for their achievements. Remember Thomas Edison and his 10,000 failures before the lightbulb invention.
6. Set New Goals
Once you’ve reflected your experience, it’s time to set new goals to help you bounce back. Start with micro goals and easy wins to regain confidence.
7. Create an Action Plan
An action plan provides direction and clarity. Include in your action plan specific steps to achieve goals, resources and a timeline. Think of it as your GPS to get to your goal. Having a clear path forward reduces uncertainty, anxiety and overwhelm and helps regain focus.
8. Seek Support
Hiding our mistakes and failures doesn’t allow the growth and erodes trust. Lean into your support network. Share your experiences with friends, family, or mentors who can offer encouragement and advice. Outside perspectives can help you see opportunities for growth and that you may not be aware of.
9. Take Action – See this article for more details on how to take action.
Take action and move forward! Take what you’ve learned and grow. Small steps help regain momentum and build confidence. Do something – anything – start a new project, revisiting the project in error, pursue a new opportunity, or try something completely different. Taking action breaks the cycle of stagnation and fear. Action propels you forward with bouncing back and becoming more resilient.
10 Celebrate your resilience and the courage it takes to move forward.
Move through failure and mistakes is about developing resilience and the ability to learn and grow. When we acknowledging our feelings, reflecting on our experiences, and taking proactive steps, we can turn setbacks into stepping stones forward. The path may be bumpy and winding, but the destination can be extraordinary and amazing. You can bounce back!
Now you know how to bounce back from failure and mistakes. Which steps will you take next time you encounter a mistake or failure?
I encourage you to take chances, make mistakes and get messy, as Ms. Frizzle says. Embrace the next mistake or failure as an opportunity to learn from it, and let it propel you toward your next adventure.
If you or someone you know would like support dealing with failure, mistakes, taking chances, building resilience, career development, change, or has been knocked down reach out and contact me. I provide a safe place to find courage and live boldly.
Latest Client Wins: “Wow, I have a weight lifted off after putting boundaries in place.”, “Thank you, I feel more ready to look for a job now.”, “Thank you for the coaching around my performance review.” My clients are winning at work and in their lives.
I have space for 2 additional clients in November. If you or someone you know would like support in your career, taking action, setting priorities, becoming resilient or bouncing back, please contact me. Let’s have a conversation to see how I can be of support.
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Peace, and blessings,
Teresa –Bouncing Back from setbacks – again and again….
Teresa Q. Bitner, M.Ed., PMP, PCC - Resiliency, Change and Loss Coach
Partnering with those who have been knocked down by life and want to build resiliency and move forward and live a bold life.
[email protected]
www.boldfulfilledlifecoach.com
Author of:
· Soul Love: How A Dog Taught Me to Breathe Again
· The First Days: Coping with Life after Loss (updated 2nd edition)
· Explorations into the Being and Doing of Coaching: A collection of voices, insights, and wisdom from Austin area coaches
· My Journey as a Widow: A Widow’s First Journal