Setbacks

No matter how prepared you are, how hard you work, how much time you put in, how dedicated you are, some things are simply out of your control.  You can do everything “right,” but the harsh reality is that some things simply do not work out the way you’d like them to.  Why?  That’s a bigger question; however, regardless of what you believe in, it’s one of those hard-to-swallow pills you just have to accept.  We tend to look at life as an equation.  If I do X thing, I will get Y result.  If I put in the work, I will achieve the goal.  Sometimes it is that simple, but life has a tendency to throw a wrench in even the best laid plans.  So what do you do when you’ve spent the money, done the work, dedicated the time, tried your best, and it just doesn’t work out?  I’ll tell you what I did this week.  I got mad.  Then I felt sad.  Then I felt sorry for myself.  Then I pointed fingers because it’s nice to have someone or something to direct your anger and sadness at, and it’s easier than accepting that some things just happen.  Setbacks happen.  But that’s all they have to be – setbacks.  Not dream crushers or plan destroyers, just setbacks.  It may take a little longer and you may have to work a little harder, but you can still get where you’d like to go despite setbacks.  And a bad attitude will only set you back even further.  Sure, I’m allowed to be mad and sad and disappointed, but this week I realized that the energy I was wasting on the “woe is me” could be used to push me forward toward my goal, even if I have to take the long way around.