Failures and challenges are an integral part of everyday life. They are things we can never fully avoid, and it is important to learn how to stop negative experiences from affecting your mental health and well-being. When failures occur, it is better to welcome them with resilience and turn them into fuel for future opportunities.
Understand resilience.
Resilience is your ability to recover from difficult situations. It is your inner voice that tells you to never give up, no matter what. When you are a resilient person, even after facing problems, deep inside you know that in the end, you will succeed anyway. You understand that one failure does not define your life story or who you are. It is recognizing that most great things in life happen only after many attempts and many failures. I bet you wouldn’t appreciate your achievements as much if everything came to you easily and without effort. However, there are times when you might feel that you are moving backward and not forward, no matter what you do. In your mind, you might start forming a negative mindset, which will limit your opportunities in life. Developing a negative mindset may lead to becoming mentally weak and unable to accomplish good things in life due to a tendency to blame others and avoid responsibility. It is important to stop the flow of negative thoughts and change the way of how you perceive difficulties in life. See the perspective in every failure. Every obstacle is your chance to learn and elevate your skills for future success.
Form a sense of purpose.
Usually, we are driven by a sense of purpose. When we believe something is meant for us to achieve, we will not give up until we finally attain it. This is why it is important to cultivate that mentality so you start understanding the larger reason behind everything you do. For instance, if you dream of becoming an artist, when facing multiple failures, form the mindset that tells you that you are meant to be a remarkable artist who will contribute many great artworks to this world. Allow yourself to fail many times, but do not give up because once you quit, the game is over. Therefore, don’t stop fighting for your dreams.
Overcome fear.
You must overcome the fear of negativity because, unfortunately, bad things will continue to happen and we can’t stop that. However, it is important to be able to bravely face all obstacles, quickly recover, and bounce back even better. Don’t be afraid to start to dive into a new project just because your previous one wasn’t successful. Don’t be afraid to start a conversation with a new neighbor just because your last neighbor was unpleasant, and don’t hesitate to take a new job in the same field simply because you did not grow within your previous company. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re struggling. A supportive circle is extremely important in becoming a resilient person because a resilient person is not one who can handle everything themselves but one who can navigate negativity knowing they can overcome everything, especially with someone to rely on.
Love yourself.
Develop a healthy relationship with the most important person in your life: yourself. Practice self-compassion by treating yourself with the same understanding, kindness, and support that you would offer a close friend. Allow yourself to express the full spectrum of emotions. It is okay to feel sad when something goes wrong, and it is completely okay to feel anger when things don’t go as expected. This might sound corny, but it is okay not to be okay. Don’t blame yourself for failures because it will affect your mental state. Instead, seek support from someone you trust, express and process your feelings, take time to reflect on your negative experiences, take notes on what went wrong, and return stronger and better prepared to try again. Always remember: no matter how many times you fell, it is important how high you soared.
Take your time.
Sometimes you might feel like you are falling behind in life, as if you haven’t achieved the things you planned to accomplish by a certain time, or perhaps your friends from the same age group seem to be doing better. You might think that your failures are holding you back and that you are running out of time, but there are no deadlines in life. It may seem that society has established certain time limits; however, those “rules” are not a guidebook for your life. One recent study, conducted in 2019 and published in the Nature Communications scientific journal, showed that scientists who experienced major setbacks in their early careers accomplished much greater success than those who had early triumph. This proves that setbacks offer opportunities to grow and reflect and play a significant role in the learning process. Don’t compare yourself to others and don’t envy easy and quick win, because you feel most satisfied with your achievements when you realize how challenging your path has been.
by Viktoriia Kolomiiets