Dealing with Career Setbacks

“Ever tried. Ever Failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett

We’ve all been in a position where we tried something that just didn’t work out the way we wanted it to. Not getting a promotion, a career not working out, being made redundant, not being successful in a performance review or not receiving an annual salary increase. Closing a business is another example of a setback. All of these can make the time and hard work put into them feel like a huge waste. A major setback can often be enough to convince someone that they’re a failure and cast personal doubt on their abilities to bounce back. They want to put it behind them and move forward with their career, but the confidence and self-belief necessary just isn’t there anymore.

Setbacks are ultimately just a part of life that we must accept, because sometimes things just don’t go as planned, no matter the extent of our effort. To view oneself as a failure over a setback can instil the fear of failing again within you, and this will limit your motivation to keep trying.

So instead, let’s take a different perspective: Maybe setbacks can actually be a good thing. I’ve got some tips that might help you reshape your view and develop a more resilient mindset that can push you towards starting again.

First, when you’re faced with something you think is a failure, try to ask yourself what you can learn from the experience and what you need to do differently next time to achieve your desired outcome. Adopt the mindset of ‘Win and Learn’. Mistakes are opportunities to learn because they can help you. Apply lessons from your supposed failures to make improvements in your future career decisions and opportunities.

The second piece of advice is to remember that how you respond to a setback is something you can influence. If you choose to view it as a failure, that will shape your perspective on the experience and your self-belief in its aftermath. Instead, your response can be to accept what has happened, recognise what was within your control and what was outside it, and look to the future. This will help to ensure that when you are applying what you learned to your next attempts, you won’t be clouded by toxic negativity.

Next, you should think about your role models. Athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, successful professionals or even people in your own life. All of them may have faced setbacks, and many have found ways to overcome those setbacks. They did so by responding with a positive attitude and a willingness to learn from their mistakes. If they can do it, then so can you.

I would also encourage you to trust your instincts and your intuition. Oftentimes, the decision to go a different way than where your gut is guiding you can mean ignoring what matters to you. When making career decisions, take time to reflect on what your instincts are telling you, alongside the facts and advice available to you. You are pursuing these goals for you, so it is important to consider what feels right for you and the direction you want your career to take.

Another good tip is to plan out your action steps for the next attempt and do so with every lesson you’ve learned in mind. Defining a clear plan can make the path ahead so much clearer, especially when you can be confident that you are taking steps to avoid repeating the same mistakes as before.

My next tip is that it’s okay to ask for support if necessary. You might have struggled with your previous attempts because of a lack of knowledge or skills, and you can enhance these with the help of a coach or mentor. They can also help you reflect on your experience, explore your options and decide on your next steps.

Lastly, if you feel like you’ve already given your best possible attempt at achieving a particular goal and it’s time to move on to a new challenge, then that’s what you should do. And you should do it without regrets. You gave it your best shot and it didn’t work out, but you can still learn from it, and you can still apply lessons from that experience in whatever you try to do next. Sometimes this might mean pursuing a different role, changing your career direction or deciding that it is time to close a business and move on to something new.

When dealing with career setbacks, it is important to consider your own motives and what you want for yourself, rather than being driven by a desire to impress someone or prove someone wrong. This will not necessarily lead to true fulfilment because it may have little to do with what you actually want. Do what is best for you, and always give yourself some time to reflect and embrace solitude because through that, you will discover your passions and values.

If I was to recommend one book on overcoming setbacks it would be The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday. This book provides insight on how to look at challenges and setbacks differently and how to ensure that fears and the aftershocks of past negative experiences don’t hold us back from our true potential.