Don't Let Setbacks Bring You Down

When I was growing up, I had this toy called a Tamagotchi. It was basically a little pet you took care of and I loved it! One day, I had finally gotten my pet to a teenager stage. I was so excited! And then, I accidentally hit the reset button. All of a sudden my little pet inside the toy was brought back to being a baby.

It was a setback.

If you ask anyone, they will tell you they have experienced their own share of setbacks in life. Moments far more devastating than some silly toy that has been restarted. Setbacks are exhausting and they can feel really defeating. 

And lately, I experienced a different sort of setback. 

With my blog, LadyUnemployed.com, I had a personal goal of achieving under 1 million Alexa ranking. Now, for non-bloggers and non-website owners, Alexa.com ranks your website in comparison to others. It's essentially a marketing tool to analyze how well your website is doing and how many people visit it.

A few weeks ago, I was at 1.2 million. So close to my goal! Then, some weeks went by and I checked again. I was at 4.5 million. 

I had a setback.

It was so defeating. I wondered what happened and how I had fallen so far from my own goal.

Have you ever been there?

Maybe yours isn't blogging related like mine, but maybe you have realized lately you are far from where you thought you'd be at this moment. Or maybe you have had to restart something that already has taken you years. Whether it's a personal goal, a writing project, or even a relationship, we all experience these setbacks.

When setbacks happen, it's like a reset button has hit. And then it seems you have a couple of choices: continue forward or walk away. Sometimes that decision is easy to make, and sometimes - most times, I'd say - it is complicated.

For my Tamagotchi setback, my decision was easy. I walked away from it. 

For my website, I've decided to stick with it. But I'm going back to the drawing board. My setback has given me a chance to reflect where I want this blog to go, and what I really want to get out of it. 

And if you've decided to keep moving forward after a setback, take a moment to reflect. Ask yourself: where do you want to see this project (or goal or relationship) go? Can you change your approach as you move forward? 

2020 seems to be the year of setbacks. I've sure had my more than my share this year. If you've experienced a setback recently, know this: you are not alone. Use your setback as a chance to pause and reflect. Don't be too hard on yourself either. One of the worst things you can do to yourself is beat yourself up over it. Pick yourself back up and take another step forward.