Turning Setbacks into Success

When we take a setback and dig into the pieces of it that provide learning, new information, and different tools to try, we begin the process of turning that setback into success. It may not be an overnight change, it may not be a change that happens in a year or two or twenty, but every piece growth we can take out an experience makes the experience worthwhile in some way.

Let’s take a look at the last time you drank alcohol when you didn’t want to, and see what can be learned from that experience. Can we identify any triggers that were at play that we weren’t aware of before? Did we try any of our tools, and if we did, what can we learn about their efficacy? Can you reimagine the situation using a different tool, so that you can hold onto the vision of it going differently next time?

If you’ve had successful alcohol-free days followed by a slip, let’s dig into what did work in the period we stayed dry. What resources were we calling on? What was our mindset and inner-dialogue like at the time? What was feeling good?

When we begin to Reframe (get it?) the way we view an experience like drinking alcohol when we’re trying to quit, and pull out the informative pieces of it, we turn a setback into success. And when we continue to do that with every setback, we build resilience for every future experience. (In our alcohol-free life, and in the job of being a human in general. Win-win!)