4 Ways You Can Overcome A Setback

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Life is full of setbacks. At times, unfortunate events occur when we least expect them, leaving us broken and feeling a little bit insane. It could be a failed relationship, where the love isn’t mutual, or a physical injury when a person needs his body to be at its fittest. Sometimes, it is the smallest of personal matters that may eventually amount to something gargantuan. Like how a pitcher launches a fast ball, we can never claim to be ready to handle a setback that that bolts out of nowhere. After all, we are just human.
As a 19-year-old who has not yet stepped into the adult world, it would be bigotry to say that I’ve overcome the toughest of setbacks in my life, for there’s still plenty untold stories and tons of setbacks yet to be conquered. But I can confidently say that these 4 steps helped me climb back up after falling into any pit.

1. Accept it.

Sadly, the first step is probably the hardest step. Sometimes it’s hard to accept how horrible life can be when everything just feels like a really bad scene from a movie. You want to believe it’s all a nightmare and will be over as soon as you wake up. It’s hard, and so unfortunately many people will choose to give up. It’s easier if you find a friend, someone you can really trust. Confide in the friend and hear what he or she has to say. They may not know everything, but at least you get to hear things from another perspective, which will help you accept whatever it is that has happened. Without accepting what has happened, you will never be healed 100% and this will hinder your ability to become stronger in handling future catastrophes.

2. Let it go.

The past is the past, there’s no point in harping on whatever has happened. You’ve got to put down any old baggage and learn to forget the things that have hurt you. While accepting is difficult, this step usually takes the longest. It’s possible you’ll stumble upon pictures or messages that remind you of a specifically hard time from your past. And initially this will affect you — you may start to feel depressed — but as time passes, you’ll learn to chuck aside whatever it is that arouses these negative thoughts. You need to take these items down from their pedestal and maybe even consider chucking them. But most importantly you must be patient and let time do its work.

3. Find a new purpose.

Everything happens for a reason. Look out for any possible signs in your life that might shed light on your setbacks and then start searching for that new goal. It’s time you let your setback go already, for there are greater things in store for you just waiting to be found. All you have to do is start looking. Of course taking on something new is always challenging, but it helps distract you from whatever it was that set you back and will help motivate you to explore new things. There are always silver linings amidst the grey clouds.

4. Move on.

When you set a new life path for yourself, it’s necessary to let go of your past. Whatever painful experience you endured affected you deeply, but it’s also over. Now is the time for you to re-write that horrible incident with optimism. And this is something that only you have the power to do.

A setback will always seem insurmountable if you don’t regard it as a challenge. No doubt there are time when, no matter how hard you try, things may not seem to get any better and all of your efforts have effectively wrung you dry, but never cease to believe that with time and a positive attitude, you will eventually escape hell that brought you here in the first place. With this new armour, you no longer have to stand idly by, whining about how unfair life is. Pick yourself up and be fearless in your conquest to defeat that which is standing in your way. Remember: it’s never too late to tell yourself that you’ve had enough and it’s time to move on!