Setbacks occur in life.  Sometimes they’re minor.  Sometimes they’re not.  I missed the last shot in a basketball game against an archrival when I was fifteen.  We lost by one point, and I was devastated.  But I was a teenager with teenage emotions and limited life experience.  I figured that I was personally responsible for losing the game when, in truth, any single play throughout the course of the game could have changed the ending.  Not winning proved to be a minor setback, but was a valuable life lesson for me at the time.

As a small business owner for thirty-five years, I experienced a wide variety of setbacks, some minor, some not.  But I learned to develop solutions to the problems I encountered and move on.  That’s life, right? As my dad advised, “Keep your chin up. Tomorrow is another day.”

Recently I suffered a physical setback that took me by surprise, and, for a brief time, I was devastated.  But, as I put things in perspective, I appreciated that my setback was distressing, not devastating.  It wasn’t life-threatening, nor did it resign me to life in a wheelchair.  A setback, yes, but not devastating.

I pulled out a book I wrote in April 2020, “When Life Needs a Sticky Note… words of inspiration during challenging times,” and I reread several chapters which held new meaning for me.  Allow me to share:

Chapter Four: Choose Your Attitude
I can be miserable, or I can be happy. But it’s my choice!

Chapter Seven: Learn to Accept Change
This is my new normal. Get used to it.

Chapter Eight: Develop Coping Strategies
I’m going to move forward with baby steps, eliminating unnecessary risks.

Chapter Nine: Let Stuff Go
What’s done is done.  If I focus on the past, my future will be my past.

Setbacks. Sometimes they’re minor. Sometimes they’re not. Adapt. Move on.

 

Mountaintop Moments(3) resized

“It’s not whether you get knocked down.  It’s whether you get up again.”
Vince Lombardi

Dr. Kerr

Author Dr. Kerr

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