Let’s be honest, life is tough.  It’s filled with ups and downs, and sometimes it’s hard to come back from those downs.  Setbacks are normal, but that doesn’t mean we have to surrender to them.  Here are a few ways I overcome life’s setbacks.

Meet yourself with grace and compassion

It’s easy to get upset when you fall off the bandwagon.  Maybe it happened because you lost interest, or other things in life got in the way.  Life events like illness, babies, and job changes can throw life into chaos and it can be hard to get back on track.  Many people internalize these setbacks as moments of weakness.  They beat themselves up and get really hard on themselves.  I’m certainly guilty of this myself.  But tell me, has this ever helped?  Has a stern talking-to made you get back on the bandwagon and turn things around?  Or did it just make you feel really bad about yourself?  I’m sure you’ve heard it before but I’ll say it again – treat yourself like you would your best friend.  Meet yourself with grace and compassion.  Don’t chew yourself out or call yourself names.  Give yourself the encouragement to pick yourself back up and keep going.  Each day is a new day to make better choices and the more you can practice this, the easier it will be to get back on track.  

Reevaluate your priorities

Ask yourself what is important to you.  What may appear as a setback might just be a shift of priorities.  Or maybe you’ve been so focused on something that you’ve let other areas of your life suffer.  Perhaps work has gotten so busy that you’ve been glued to your desk and haven’t gotten out for walks as often.  Reevaluate what’s important to you and come up with a plan to keep what’s important to you at the forefront.  Maybe work isn’t going to slow down anytime soon – in that case, schedule short walking breaks or invest in a walking pad to get steps in while you continue to work.  

Allow yourself to slow down

It’s easy to allow life to become a rat race and try to do all the things.  We’re only capable of so much before we burn out though.  What might feel like a setback might just be your body’s way of telling you it can’t do much more.  Allow yourself to slow down and take a break from some things.  Strength training is super important for your body and mental health, but we aren’t meant to go hard all the time.  Deload weeks are instrumental in recovery, and it’s no different in everyday life.  Sometimes we need a de-load week or two to allow ourselves to slow down, come back to the present moment, and give ourselves time to refuel to go hard again.

Consider what you’re grateful for

Similar to giving yourself grace, shift your mindset to gratitude.  Remind yourself of what you’re grateful for.  Sometimes this change in perspective is enough to remember what’s important to you.  Maybe you’re healing from an injury and you’re feeling like your body has failed you.  Instead of focusing on these negative feelings, name three things that you’re grateful for.  I may have to wear this brace for the next several weeks, but I’m thankful that I didn’t have to have surgery, requiring months of rehabilitation.  I’m thankful I have my family to help with the household chores, and I’m thankful that the doctor’s bill won’t break the bank like a hospital bill would.  A simple mindset shift can be enough to get you through the recovery and back on track in no time.

Ask for help

Raise your hand if you hate asking for help.  What is it about humans, especially us women, that we believe we need to do it all?  Between work, raising kids, running a household, and self-care, it’s no wonder we face setbacks.  Yes, we are built to do hard things, but we are not built to do it all, let alone perfectly.  Ask for help.  Ask your kids to pitch in with chores or hire a professional cleaner to come even once a month.  Ask another parent to help with driving the kids to and from activities.  Ask your partner to pick up whatever slack is there.  Whatever it is that you can relinquish control of, ask for it!  I know this may be easier said than done, but I bet if you think really hard about it, you’ll be able to come up with even one thing that someone could help you with.

I get it, setbacks are hard to overcome.  It’s easy to fall into that negative mindset but try these strategies the next time it happens to you.  It will likely take less time to get back on track and you’ll feel so much better about yourself as you do.