Use Setbacks to Strengthen Your Commitment

Life is hard sometimes.

You have so many responsibilities and so little time. Even when you stick to a schedule, circumstances can disrupt your plans and leave you scrambling. It’s enough to make you want to give up when everything seems to be working against you.

But don’t – please!

It happens to everyone. After all, there’s only so much we can control – and a whole universe of people, places and things that are simply beyond us. When you learn to EXPECT disruption, and to simply accept it as a fact of life, then you can begin to be free of it.

Here’s a super-basic example. My dad always told me to leave 20 minutes ahead of time for any appointment. That would allow for traffic or another unexpected delay. If I arrived on time, I’d have a few minutes to kill; if the journey took longer than I had expected, I’d still be on time.

It drove teen-age me crazy. But dad was right, and I think about this little lesson all the time. It’s even easy to apply it to healthy goals.

For example, if you want to lose weight, then it’s not enough to start eating right. You also have to anticipate days when you won’t be able to, for whatever reason. Maybe you’re stuck in a work conference, or traveling, or just can’t resist your neighbor’s fried chicken today.

If you want to train at the gym regularly, then you have to accept that you’ll need rest days. That the gym might be unexpectedly closed sometimes. That you might have a family emergency that keeps you away.

Here’s my wish for you. When these circumstances happen – and they will – don’t abandon your goals. Instead, remember that success takes consistent effort over time. And use each setback to strengthen the commitment you made to yourself.

It’s all in how you look at it!