Life does not always work out as you plan.
Everyone faces failures and disappointments from time to time. Sometimes the business you started with all enthusiasm and passion fails, you get laid off from your job you loved and the marriage you believed was perfect ends in divorce. Just when you think things are working out fine, life throws you a curveball.
Your life after a setback completely depends on how you handle it. Most of us rebound from setbacks and accept them as opportunities in disguise. There are a couple of questions that arose in my mind: Why do we have to wait for a setback to take the plunge and create the life we wanted? Why is the drive/intensity there after the setback and not prior to it? I made every effort to find the answers to my queries..
“Perceived control influences neural responses to setbacks and promotes persistence.” I read an article at Neuron which explains how people cope with setbacks and persist with their goals? To understand this, it is important to understand the way the brain works. Heard about the two central nodes of the brain Ventral Striatum and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC)? They play a major role in mediating the relationship between negative affect and persistence after setbacks. These nodes send signals which helps us to perceive control over the negative effect of setback and adapt our behavior. They help to correct our mistakes and stay the course.
Our brain helps in ways it can but we should put in an effort to handle setbacks positively. Your brain needs a little help to overcome its negative inner voice. Begin training your brain to focus on the positive. You can help your brain to identify the areas where you have failed and where you can improve upon. Understanding what contributed to the negative outcome is the key to doing better in the future. Treat failures as learning experiences. Believe you can do better in the future.
Success is often determined by persistence. The belief that you have a control over your failure is an important factor that encourages persistence. For example, when you believe that you ended in a divorce due to poor understanding of your partner, you can change the behavior to avoid failure next time or correct yourself and apologize. Such people are more likely to persist after setbacks as your brain signals you to follow the right path.