We all have our fair share of failures and setbacks. Perhaps these were brought about by our mistakes or some misfortune. Perhaps the universe conspired against us at the time and brought us to our knees.
Maybe it was when you got the best mortgage rates and bought a property only for it to catch fire a few days after you moved in. Or perhaps you blew the most important client presentation in your career because you lost track of time and was an hour late to the meeting.
Things You Can Do to Recover from Bad Decisions and Situations
Whatever the case may be and however it transpired, a fact of life is that bad things happen. Period. But you don’t have to stay down when your life gets messed up. You can do things to regain control of your life and start building it up again.
Remember what caused you to make that decision or brought you to that particular situation
Inevitably, you will encounter several setbacks in life. That’s one of the harsh realities that you need to accept. So don’t be too hard on yourself when things don’t go according to plan or when you mess up.
Instead, take time to reflect on how you got to that situation. Was there some lapse in judgment? Were you misinformed? Did you do (or not do) something that contributed to the problem?
Ask yourself the tough questions and be brutally honest with your answers. Only then will you know how to address what needs to be addressed.
Own up to it
Two things: stop being in denial and stop making excuses. Instead of blaming others, take responsibility for it. This means taking a proactive stance on things.
For instance, if your wallet went missing, do you say your wallet is gone or you misplaced it? They may sound similar, but the slight difference between the two is in taking ownership of it.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself
Some people take it personally whenever something bad happens. One small mistake can ruin an entire day for them. And then you get angry, frustrated, and depressed.
It’s so easy to fall into this trap. But you need to realize that just like fear, self-pity paralyzes you. It keeps you from taking action and moving forward.
Stop beating yourself and get back in the game. If you need a few minutes to vent, go ahead and do so. But as soon as you’re done, pick up the pieces and start moving on.
Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place
Instead of dwelling on the bad stuff, remind yourself of your purpose and your passion. Why are you there in the first place? Realigning your thoughts with your purpose and passion helps you move away from your misfortune and gets you moving towards your goal.
Evaluate what went wrong and look for missed opportunities
If you do think about your mistakes, do so from a constructive point of view. Assess everything and see where things fell apart and how it could have been prevented.
If you look at a mistake as something terrible, then you’ll be pessimistic most of the time. But if you learn to see it as something that can add value to you, things start to make sense, and eventually, as you become aware of the mishaps, you adapt and become wiser.
Reach out to people you trust
You need to understand that you don’t have to deal with your problems all by yourself. Reach out to people who you know will support you and help you get back on track. Sure, they may say some stuff that you don’t want to hear at the time, but if these people are for you, trust that whatever they say or do is what they believe is best for you.
You don’t really need to follow everything they say, but the point is you need to surround yourself with people who love you unconditionally.
Learn to forgive yourself
At the end of the day, you should learn to let go of your past. Don’t dwell on your mistakes. Learn from them, then do your best to avoid them moving forward. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Learn to forgive yourself, too.
Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy whenever we drag ourselves down. Embrace the fact that you’re only human and that you are prone to making mistakes. Work with what you can control.
Life may be unfair at times but what matters is you don’t lose hope. Take heart. As long as there is breath in you, there is always hope. You can turn things around. You need to set your mind and heart to it and follow through.
