What To Do When Things Don’t Go As Planned
Six steps that can support you through disappointment.
Whether you are an entrepreneur, a woman in leadership, or any type of human being living in this world, you are no stranger to disappointment.
For many women in business, these disappointments are things we take very personally. We over analyze to the point where someone is to blame. And because the women leaders I know are never scared of accountability, we seem to blame ourselves even when we recognize many things are completely out of our control.
For years, we have been working with women in business to help them navigate setbacks or challenges where the outcome did not match the intention. Here are the six steps we have found that can support you through disappointment.
Don’t attach meaning that isn’t there
Our brains love a good story and often will run away with a narrative that isn’t exactly true when we are upset that things didn’t go as planned. One setback does not prove the negative thoughts that were already swirling in your head. One thing not going well, does not mean, nothing will ever go well again.
Let yourself feel disappointed
When we avoid feeling sad or upset, we are not allowing ourselves to have our full experience. Sometimes you need to make some room for sadness in order to let the feeling fully pass. Only then can you really move on.
Take some space to process
Assess what went wrong and acknowledge what you cannot control. So often we want to hold the whole blame for disappointing outcomes, but rarely is that ever true. Finding blame and holding on to resentment or disappointment is not helpful in working towards more desirable outcomes in the future.
Assess your options
Is all truly lost? Or is there space to regain some sense of progress, even when things truly did not work out? Taking some time to look at alternative plans of action. This may not be the original plan, but try to explore a silver lining or another alternative?
Find support
You do NOT have to solve every problem on your own. So many women business leaders think that they do. They don’t reach out to their network, or let other people help support them. This is not the time to suck it up by yourself. Asking for help is a sign of strength in leadership.
Move forward
This is a practice of building resilience. When things don’t go as planned, we get to decide where we go from here. It doesn’t mean you have to plow forward, it simply means you can continue to move in the direction you are intending to go.
One of the most profound outcomes I have seen from women in our SWELL by Rebelle program is their ability to move past setbacks. If you are looking for a supportive group of your peers to help you navigate the next steps in your career and life, consider joining our Fall Cohort. Enrollment is now open until March 7, 2023.
