What do you do if your professional setbacks are hindering your growth mindset?

When you hit a rough patch in your career that makes you doubt your growth mindset, it's important first to acknowledge how you're feeling. Take a moment to recognize any frustration or disappointment, but then shift your focus to finding ways to bounce back stronger. Think about it as an opening. Stay curious and flexible, seeing challenges as chances to grow. Remember what you're passionate about and why you started your career journey. Break down your goals into smaller steps so they feel more achievable. Seek advice and support from people who've been through similar struggles. Surround yourself with friends, mentors, and colleagues who can cheer you on and offer guidance. Be kind to yourself and forgive any mistakes you've made.

If your professional setbacks are hindering your growth mindset, the first step is to recognize and accept your emotions. "We are only human", it is normal to feel disappointed or frustrated. Then get into action. Focus on what you can control, set new goals, join some courses or get certifications, seek support, and surround yourself by the right people. Create a personal board of directors, a group of trusted individuals who will provide advice, support, and perspective to help you navigate and elevate your professional life. Network and hold yourself accountable, remind yourself that you have a lot to offer.

You are not married to your goal. Flexibility to change goals is key in Growth mindset. If you are meeting repeated failures, perhaps it's best to change / modify your goals. Refusing to change is a key trait of fixed mindset and sure death in a VUCA environment.

See from a third person's eye. What is causing a setback, causal analysis in conjunction with the decision tree may help a great deal.

Critical/compassionate self-reflection is key to every stage of this process. Studying yourself, understanding the concurrent stressors in your life, examining who and what you have to draw on for support, as well as reviewing the effectiveness of past plans you may have employed, will give you an opportunity to have a more holistic view of the setback. Additionally, you may realize that you were able to navigate a similar setback in the past, thus giving you the emotional and spiritual “data” necessary to forge ahead.

This has happened to me more than once in the 30 years I've been a consultant. Setbacks have included; clients changing direction in the middle of a project, companies, departments or agencies losing their budgets, and even my best clients changing jobs and not being able to bring me on. I had visions of business growth and growth in other areas of my life. After each one (in the early days), my negative self-talk would take over. I would blame myself and say "This is it, you'll never get another contract client, etc." I reach out to friends/colleagues who know me and my work. They provide emotional support, objectivity, and brain storming sessions for the next steps. They get me out of emotional, mental, and behavioral funk

Something that is critical during any time of transition is self-care. Rest, spiritual connection, healthy movement, connecting with compassionate loved ones/colleagues and other personal restorative practices will aid in a more balanced nervous system. Also as recommended by Caroline A. Wanga, developing a well thought out self-compassion plan prior to experiencing a setback will allow you to enact it when those challenges occur.