s you do life, once in a while you will be thrown a curve ball that can ultimately destabilize you. That is how life has been structured. We climb mountain peaks and when we get to the top, we realize that what we just climbed was a hill, the real mountain is still ahead. There has been so much to learn as you climbed that hill, but when you get to a moment that needs you to dig in, you can at times get discouraged. Further, a setback can be thrown your way that mightily weighs you down. If you will not handle your recovery well, you might ultimately veer of your track.
Some of the things that might come out of a setback include the following:
When a setback is in operation, it attacks your level of control and you handle on life. There is nothing as destabilizing as seemingly having no control over issues in your life. So if you want to know how you can quickly recover, it is imperative that you detect that which is in your control and that which is not in your control. Stressing yourself over that which you cannot control is not such a good recovery mechanism.
Ultimately, when a setback comes your way, more often than not, it is a seed of what is coming. In other words, the worst case scenario might still not have happened. The setback at hand will always be threatening the worst. In your bid for recovery, this knowledge needs to be put in perspective too. Not all the promises of a crash are necessarily true. There are things that are illusions and then there are things that are reality. Your frame of mind during a setback might be dwelling on the illusion of imminent failure, which might not happen. Your recovery will be to the extent that you are able to filter out the illusion from the reality. I admit, it is tricky.
A setback takes so much bandwidth in your life. It is not just your time that is affected, but also your emotions and your mind. When this happens, it stifles your creativity and your thinking, the very things that you need in order to be productive.
I have realized that there could be quite a number of repercussions that will come your way as a result of a setback. However, the chiefest of these repercussions is derailment. It is the stalling of your advancement, the breaking of your focus and the messing up with your consistency. It therefore follows that the greatest thing that you ought to protect whenever a setback comes your way is your progress. How do you handle your progress and keep it on course during a time of a setback? That is the greatest resilience question that you ought to answer.
Well, the initial moments when a crisis hits, we might be so attached to our “comfort” to realize that things have changed. So we spend some time trying to operate as if all is well, and also wishing that all was well. We spend time trying to apportion blames and excavating the cause of the setback. The truth of the matter is that these things will not help in the quest for you to mount a recovery. In order for you to get a grip of your life, it is important that recovery techniques kick in sooner rather than later. One great thing that we need to realize is that we might not be able to totally remove the setback. How we respond to it though is the critical part.
I believe the following things can help you through.
It sounds so simple and so easy, and yet this is absolutely profound. Did you realize that a setback can cause health problems such as high blood pressure and ulcers? At the height of the setback, your brain goes on an overdrive to protect you and so shuts down some critical functions of your body in order to preserve you. That is why you realize that breathing is not deep, it is quick and shallow. You realize that you are not calm. To mount a recovery, you ought to learn to practice deep breathing. Take in a lungful of air through your nostrils, hold it for a few seconds and exhale through the mouth as “haaaa”. Do that for five minutes and you will feel not only better, but a little bit in control. If the panic in your heart persists, keep doing thing exercise over and over again. Your recovery depends on it.
I think the worst thing we do when we face a setback is to either go it alone or keep our mouths shut. Ultimately, one will need to face their crisis alone at some point. That does not however mean that you cannot talk about it. If you can enlist a trusted friend or loved one who cares about you, chances are that that talk will release some tension from your heart. Your recovery will even be better because you feel supported.
I cannot begin to tell you how easy it is to go through a crisis when you have someone who shares the burden with you. The worst form of a crisis is when everyone that you were counting on literally dumps you and leaves you to fend for yourself. Someone said, “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. I am not just talking about someone who can listen, but I am talking about someone who can tangibly help, and stick around until the whole crisis is averted. It is a great recovery technique to use.
The earlier you get your hands dirty on this the much better. This has already been intimated on. A crisis continues to enlarge the more you leave it alone. It is a great recovery technique that the moment a crisis is reported or is starting, you face it head on immediately. I know this is not easy to do, but it is one of the most potent yet uncomfortable ways our mounting a recovery. Do not delay.
Once you have decided to tackle your setback head on, it is important to “move on”. It is important to craft what you think is the worst case scenario of that situation and start operating as if it were true. The burden that we have when setbacks come is as a result of wanting to maintain our status quo in the wake of a setback. Such a stance will make your recovery quite cumbersome.
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“I was complaining about my shoes until I met a man who did not have legs”. There will always be someone in a graver situation that yourself. If at all you can find such a one and even help them, that would put a very different perspective to your woes. Your recovery will make you more humane. Knowing that there is someone worse off than yourself helps you get a great perspective of your recovery.