Regaining your confidence after a major setback

Reaffirm yourself

The mindset to take here is that failure isn’t personal – it happens to everyone. Visualise your desired situation and reaffirm that your goals are still credible. If the negative feelings arise and you are tempted to say “I can’t do it”, replace those thoughts with “Yes I can”.

Take a step back to do something you enjoy

Try to take some time out to de-stress after a major setback. This not only gives you a reprieve from failure, it can stir your creativity and help you get a sense of what really matters in life. Surround yourself with positive people and try something relaxing like reading, fishing, volunteering or even simply hanging out with your family.

Reflect on your past successes and failures

Success stories and failures both bring learning opportunities. You can become far more aware of your strengths and weaknesses by reflecting on these. You will be able to highlight your blind spots, personal quirks and it will help set out a course of action when moving forward.

Forgive yourself

A key driver of success lies in the ability to forgive yourself and learn from your mistakes. The aim is to not beat yourself up after making a mistake. It does nothing but damage your confidence and make it harder to bounce back.

Manage your self-doubt

Tame your self-doubt and negative self-talk by writing down your concerns and fears in a clear way to rationally challenge them. Ideally, your doubts and worries will dissolve under the scrutiny, yet if they are based on risks they might take a bit more to manage.

Get back up on your feet and strive for success

Don’t stay down. Even if you might start over a bit more cautiously than before, starting is progress. You can then accelerate towards success, boosting your confidence in the process. The act of making small steps forward and using the lessons learned from previous setbacks can rebuild your self-belief. You can then gradually set bigger goals along the way.