No matter what twists and turns your life offers you, your ability to be adaptable and flexible will help you to stay open to all of the hidden gifts that difficulty may offer.
- Mandy Ingber
Yesterday it was 66 degrees here and today we have six inches of snow on the ground. It was a radical change to start out the first week of the new year. In addition to school being disrupted due to the weather, there is also uncertainty around school being in person with the high rates of infection here. It made me wonder how many more disruptions will occur this year - or even this month.
I was all ready to attack my to-do list to achieve my 2022 goals on Monday morning. But instead I’ve found myself dealing with snow, reorganizing for virtual learning in our home and generally rescheduling my first week.
This has already been a good reminder about the need to be flexible and adaptable.
So, How do you handle unexpected setbacks?
These type of things will happen but we want to make sure it doesn’t throw us completely off. Here are some quick things that we can do when these things happen:
1. Take a deep breath
2. Reschedule your time
Take a Deep Breath
Take a deep breath, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again. - Frank Sinatra
Sometimes these setbacks are unexpected and other times you have some warning (like a snowy weather forecast). Taking a deep breath can be enough of a pause for you to redirect your thinking about the situation.
Unfortunately setbacks can cause us to be frustrated, angry or disappointed. That pause can open us the opportunity to adjust those emotions and view the situation with a clearer perspective.
Consider asking yourself the following questions:
· What is the source of the setback?
· How long will this setback likely impact me?
· How do I feel about this setback?
· How will this setback impact my schedule today/this week/this month?
· What will be the impact on the short-term and long-term goals I’m trying to achieve?
Reschedule Your Time
Your ability to reschedule your time will depend on your ability to be flexible and adaptable which is not always easy. Review our past blog Preparing for Change (here) to understand your usual reaction to change.
Then determine the best way to reschedule around the disruption. This ensures that you will still ultimately achieve what you originally set out to do.
Review your goals – especially the most pressing ones—and figure out how you can change things up to ensure everything gets done.
Sometimes in these situations, I find it helpful to use a Kanban chart to take the tasks I need to accomplish.
This involves creating a chart (on paper, a whiteboard, or online using a site like Trello) and creating columns for tasks to do, in progress, and completed. If using paper or whiteboard you can write the tasks on sticky notes and move them into the appropriate column. Watch this video for more information on using a Kanban chart (here).
"May I be kind to myself in this moment. May I give myself the compassion I need” - Kristin Neff
Setbacks can sometimes feel like a punch in the stomach so don’t forget to show yourself compassion as you deal with its impacts.
Happy New Year from all of us at The Growth Group Academy and we wish you a successful year!
Practice
* Actionable Success Steps
Use these Actionable Success Steps and our complimentary Success Worksheet (here) to do the following:
(1) Describe a setback and its cause
(2) Determine its impacts on your schedule
(3) Utilize a Kanban Chart to ensure your maintain forward momentum
Learn More
The Growth Group Academy currently provides instruction to strengthen your success skills. Check out our website (here)!