Career: How to bounce back after a setback?
18 July 2011
Read by 2580 persons
Once you hit rock bottom, it seems you can only go up. Easy to say, but not easy to do, especially in a society where failure remains a major taboo. However, if you make the effort, it is really possible to transform a major blow into a positive experience.
"I am always wary of the word failure," confides Marc Traverson, a coach at the Acteüs company in Paris. Because the feeling deserves to be examined: is my analysis objective? In what way is it a failure? What is my degree of responsibility? Of course, it is not just a question of state of mind. Professional failure also means a difficult situation to manage, financial, family consequences, etc. But it will be necessary to digest it in order to move forward. The key to getting out of it: refusing to endure the situation and rejecting the logic of passivity. "Otherwise, it is the total loss of self-confidence and the negative spiral that await," warns the coach.
Taking a step back to jump higher
Taking stock of the situation objectively is a first step. It is necessary to overcome feelings of frustration, guilt, and sometimes anger, to understand that failure is part of learning and therefore of personal growth.
"Alone or with help, analyzing what did not work, why, and what you have learned, allows you to emerge stronger from this ordeal," says Marc Traverson. To build a new, fairer, and more positive self-image, it is also necessary to update what you know about your skills and qualities. "People possess unsuspected quantities of resources, but they have a narrow view of what they are capable of," notes Marc Traverson.
The search for true professional desire is also essential: "It is necessary to act according to what really motivates me and makes me want to move forward, otherwise, it will not work," advises Marc Traverson. Again, this is not self-evident. Some no longer know what motivates them, because they have followed a predetermined path, for example, or because times have changed, as have market demands.
All this can take time, but it is worth it: your new projects may lead you even further than those that failed?
A few tips to get back on track
- Go towards positive people
- Reactivate your network
- Meet new people
- Get physical exercise
- Impose a new rhythm and set goals
Priscilla Franken
www.vocatis.fr
Posted online July 18, 2011
"I am always wary of the word failure," confides Marc Traverson, a coach at the Acteüs company in Paris. Because the feeling deserves to be examined: is my analysis objective? In what way is it a failure? What is my degree of responsibility? Of course, it is not just a question of state of mind. Professional failure also means a difficult situation to manage, financial, family consequences, etc. But it will be necessary to digest it in order to move forward. The key to getting out of it: refusing to endure the situation and rejecting the logic of passivity. "Otherwise, it is the total loss of self-confidence and the negative spiral that await," warns the coach.
Taking a step back to jump higher
Taking stock of the situation objectively is a first step. It is necessary to overcome feelings of frustration, guilt, and sometimes anger, to understand that failure is part of learning and therefore of personal growth.
"Alone or with help, analyzing what did not work, why, and what you have learned, allows you to emerge stronger from this ordeal," says Marc Traverson. To build a new, fairer, and more positive self-image, it is also necessary to update what you know about your skills and qualities. "People possess unsuspected quantities of resources, but they have a narrow view of what they are capable of," notes Marc Traverson.
The search for true professional desire is also essential: "It is necessary to act according to what really motivates me and makes me want to move forward, otherwise, it will not work," advises Marc Traverson. Again, this is not self-evident. Some no longer know what motivates them, because they have followed a predetermined path, for example, or because times have changed, as have market demands.
All this can take time, but it is worth it: your new projects may lead you even further than those that failed?
A few tips to get back on track
- Go towards positive people
- Reactivate your network
- Meet new people
- Get physical exercise
- Impose a new rhythm and set goals
Priscilla Franken
www.vocatis.fr
Posted online July 18, 2011
