Coping with Setbacks

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Coping with Setbacks

Setbacks are never as final as you think

and you CAN overcome them!

In pursuit of your goals and an overall healthy lifestyle, you

will experience situations that appear as setbacks. The

important thing to know is that a setback does not mean that you

have to start all over again or give up on your goal or dream.

All setbacks are opportunities to learn. This makes it easier to

cope. We need to recognize what caused the setback and then have

a plan for the future. Most likely we will keep being exposed to

the same setback until we learn to do things differently.

Remember with every obstacle comes opportunity! Be prepared for

setbacks and obstacles that may interrupt the pursuit of your

goal of living healthy.

Be aware when you are out of balance: mind, body or spirit,

this can cause setbacks. Take the time to be aware of your

thoughts, walk and take care of your body and pray and meditate.

Time is your greatest asset. Make the most of your day. Be

aware of distractions that may tempt you to lose your focus and

balance. Refer back to your daily plan. Make a commitment to

have “no more bad days”. If you have a setback in the morning,

it does not mean that you have lost a whole day. Pick yourself

up, brush yourself off and make needed adjustments. For example,

if your goal is weight loss and you make an unhealthy food

choice, re-balance, focus and make better choices throughout the

day.

Another example is if you eat one or two cookies avoid

statements such as “I blew it” or “I will start again tomorrow”

and then eat more than you originally intended. Remove yourself

from the situation and re-balance. Go for a walk to regain

balance, burn the excess calories and then modify your choices

for the remainder of the day.

Negative thoughts such as “I can’t” or “this is not happening

fast enough” focusing on what you do not have or your

limitations

can set you back. Challenge the thoughts immediately. During the

first 30 days of changing a habit, you may find yourself

challenging negative self-messages throughout the day. As you

re-train your brain for success, the negative thoughts will

become less.

Physical or emotional pain can also be a perceived setback.

Have a plan to overcome and address feelings of pain, emotional

or physical. Remember HALT - hungry, angry, lonely, tired. If

you are feeling these feelings, halt and take the time to

address the thoughts and feelings and regain your balance. Be

aware of the tendency to want to feed the feeling instead of

hunger.

Limit contact with people that are not supportive of your

efforts and offer negative verbal feedback. Words both positive

and negative will impact your progress. Learn to cope with the

impact. Surround yourself with others that are positive and

living healthy. If you do not have anybody like that in your

life right now, you have God.

Commitment, self-discipline and patience will help you to stay

focused on your goals and cope with setbacks. Develop and learn

to apply these traits in your life today. Speak positively to

yourself throughout the process. Be your biggest fan. Believe

that you can achieve. Visualize yourself daily achieving your

goal.

View setbacks as a learning experience. If you fall down, get

back up, work through the emotion and regain your balance. You

will have to make mistakes in order to learn.Find your balance

and enjoy the journey, one day at a time.

Do not let anything get in your way..After every storm, the sun

shines again.Keep on keeping on.God believes in you, I believe

in you..DON’T GIVE UP!

Dr.

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