Setbacks and new beginnings – a quiet start
- info4263943
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Setbacks are part of every new beginning. Sometimes they come one at a time, sometimes in clusters—and sometimes just when you think you finally have solid ground under your feet again. The job offer that was withdrawn two weeks before the start.
Another hospital stay that became necessary.
An expensive training course that turned out to be useless and led to financial strain.
Setbacks.
How do we deal with setbacks? How do we build resilience so that we don’t completely derail when one setback – or several at once – destroys all our plans, ideas and to-do lists?
I could easily write a blog post or newsletter titled “5 tips on how to deal with setbacks”. But the truth is: I don’t have reliable solutions, tips or instructions for that.
When life tackles you
My mother once described this experience very vividly when she had to return to hospital just after she had started walking again. She said:“Just when you think things are finally going well, someone tackles you from the side.”
Life tackles you.
You fall.
It hurts.
Let’s stay with the sports metaphor. What happens to a football player who gets tackled? Either the injury is so serious that they are carried off the field on a stretcher and need medical care.
Or they get back up and keep playing. Some players even reach their peak performance after that setback.
Anger, defiance and the strength to get back up again
In real life, I can handle it the same way.If a setback hits me hard, I am allowed to seek medical help (if I can), so that I can stand up safely again later.
Or I get up right away.
And then I do what many football players do: I give my best, because I’m angry that my run was stopped. Because I feel defiant and tell myself: “Now more than ever.”
Anger and defiance are usually seen as negative emotions in our society.
The ideal is calmness – letting setbacks slide off you. But a tackle doesn’t slide off you.
It hits you with force. And it hurts.
For me, anger and defiance are engines. They help me get back up, keep moving and continue doing my thing. But I have to be careful that they remain just that: a temporary source of energy. They must not become a permanent emotional state.
Otherwise, instead of sore legs from life’s tackle, I end up with stomach problems caused by bitterness – bitterness I created myself.
I also allow myself medical support. Standing up again is something I have to do on my own, but having a helping hand along the way is comforting. Support from family or friends can also help to get back on your feet and keep going.
A new beginning despite fear and delays
Starting over with the awareness that setbacks will happen again can sometimes be slow and difficult.Frequent setbacks can create uncertainty.
Fear arises.
Sometimes so much fear that you become almost paralysed and don’t even want to start anymore.I know this feeling very well. Many times, my fear has covered up my anger and defiance – and nothing happens at all.
Great plans with clear deadlines get overrun by this fear. A delay sets in – one that is even more frustrating than an external setback. Because this time, the delay is created by myself.
Unfortunately, I still haven’t found a good recipe for dealing with this fear. In the end, it is often my own impatience that pulls me out of this low point. But time is lost – once again.
A quiet new start
The beginning of a new year is often a good moment for a fresh start. So I decided to start blogging again. And to finally bring my YouTube channel to life – a channel that has been waiting for over a year. No big announcement. A bit quieter. I’ll just do it.
In Japan, “Ganbatte, ne!” doesn’t mean “Good luck”. It means something closer to: “Do it.”“Give it your best, even when it’s hard.” It’s a very different attitude. Making an effort, despite setbacks. So I get back up again – despite all the setbacks of the years 2024 and 2025 –and continue walking forward in many small, tiny steps. Ganbatte, ne!
