A Few Tips to Survive a Setback at Work
18 August 2011
Read by 3637 persons
Jealous and petty colleagues exist. Don't kid yourself. Injustice, pettiness, and underhanded actions also exist. Learn to survive in 8 short lessons.
1/ Stay strong.
It's true that when faced with a setback, we are immediately tempted to respond in kind, but don't lose sight of the fact that any satisfaction you might feel would be short-lived... And the repercussions can be longer and more negative than expected. Remaining composed in the face of adversity is rarely something you regret, even if only for yourself.
2/ Communicate to release.
However, it's not advisable - and strongly discouraged - to keep any bitterness or resentment to yourself. You need to state your truth, and even defend yourself if an injustice has been committed. You must communicate to clarify the misunderstanding, the error, or the aggression with the person concerned. Dare to speak to them, or write to them if you are more timid, while remaining courteous and calm.
3/ Recover self-esteem.
Reaching out to others, taking measured, calm, and adult steps to deal with problems, will help boost your self-esteem and develop greater confidence in your ability to manage professional events and challenges. Don't beat yourself up for not reacting immediately. On the contrary, take time to think and, above all, to look at yourself with pride; your merit is not in question here.
4/ Avoid playing the victim.
The worst reaction you could have would be that of the weeping victim, the office whiner. Never fall into self-pity, misery, or doubt. Banish phrases like "I'm no good", "I always get the short end of the stick", and other horrors of that kind from your thoughts. Understanding the facts, overcoming them by resolving the "bugs" in the enormous professional machine through communication; this is the only path to your well-being.
5/ Relativize to stay true to yourself.
Putting a setback, what you might consider a failure, into perspective is vital for your mental health. It would be harmful to your well-being to give a disproportionate importance to a setback. Reframe the event. Put it in context within your work, your positive, beneficial actions. Think about what you have brilliantly accomplished, succeeded in, built... And stay true to your values and your conduct.
6/ Learn a lesson +++
Often, a negative event that seems bad in the moment is constructive for the future. So, learn from your disappointment... From now on, for example, you will keep certain information to yourself, step back from certain promises, be wary of certain smiles, better understand human and professional mechanisms. Understanding the workings is to master and dominate them.
7/ Overcome to surpass yourself.
As childish as it may seem, it is by understanding the other person, by questioning their motivations, for example, that you can forgive, and by forgiving that you will be able to overcome the disappointment and evolve. Don't lose sight of the fact that your strength of character will not serve your "opponent" but yourself!
8/ Use humor.
No, humor is not (only) "the politeness of despair", as Boris Vian said... Humor is also that lighthearted nonchalance that will allow you to take a step back and transform dark energy into power. Finding the humor in the situation will allow you to get rid of it definitively and, perhaps even, to want to make it the funny anecdote of your evening with friends!
Article written by The ReKrute.com Team
1/ Stay strong.
It's true that when faced with a setback, we are immediately tempted to respond in kind, but don't lose sight of the fact that any satisfaction you might feel would be short-lived... And the repercussions can be longer and more negative than expected. Remaining composed in the face of adversity is rarely something you regret, even if only for yourself.
2/ Communicate to release.
However, it's not advisable - and strongly discouraged - to keep any bitterness or resentment to yourself. You need to state your truth, and even defend yourself if an injustice has been committed. You must communicate to clarify the misunderstanding, the error, or the aggression with the person concerned. Dare to speak to them, or write to them if you are more timid, while remaining courteous and calm.
3/ Recover self-esteem.
Reaching out to others, taking measured, calm, and adult steps to deal with problems, will help boost your self-esteem and develop greater confidence in your ability to manage professional events and challenges. Don't beat yourself up for not reacting immediately. On the contrary, take time to think and, above all, to look at yourself with pride; your merit is not in question here.
4/ Avoid playing the victim.
The worst reaction you could have would be that of the weeping victim, the office whiner. Never fall into self-pity, misery, or doubt. Banish phrases like "I'm no good", "I always get the short end of the stick", and other horrors of that kind from your thoughts. Understanding the facts, overcoming them by resolving the "bugs" in the enormous professional machine through communication; this is the only path to your well-being.
5/ Relativize to stay true to yourself.
Putting a setback, what you might consider a failure, into perspective is vital for your mental health. It would be harmful to your well-being to give a disproportionate importance to a setback. Reframe the event. Put it in context within your work, your positive, beneficial actions. Think about what you have brilliantly accomplished, succeeded in, built... And stay true to your values and your conduct.
6/ Learn a lesson +++
Often, a negative event that seems bad in the moment is constructive for the future. So, learn from your disappointment... From now on, for example, you will keep certain information to yourself, step back from certain promises, be wary of certain smiles, better understand human and professional mechanisms. Understanding the workings is to master and dominate them.
7/ Overcome to surpass yourself.
As childish as it may seem, it is by understanding the other person, by questioning their motivations, for example, that you can forgive, and by forgiving that you will be able to overcome the disappointment and evolve. Don't lose sight of the fact that your strength of character will not serve your "opponent" but yourself!
8/ Use humor.
No, humor is not (only) "the politeness of despair", as Boris Vian said... Humor is also that lighthearted nonchalance that will allow you to take a step back and transform dark energy into power. Finding the humor in the situation will allow you to get rid of it definitively and, perhaps even, to want to make it the funny anecdote of your evening with friends!
Article written by The ReKrute.com Team
