How to Bounce Back from Failure.

What does the phrase “Bounce back” mean? I remember one of my friends reiterating the fact how he was a good bike rider, every time we came close to a “near miss” experience with other vehicles on the road. The incident happened recently and his explanation came as a response to my evident fear and subsequent request to “be on the safer side of the road”. He didn’t like hearing that, much as the Gen Y lot of entrepreneurs who take pride in having made peace with their failures. As I was still reeling off the near miss incident on the road, my biker friend explained to me his version of looking at incidents such as these: “You must compare this journey with the journey of life. We come into this world, learn the ropes, come face-to-face with hiccups and learn to bounce back to focus ‘on the road ahead’. Have the right attitude, learn from mistakes and move on.” I was dumbfounded at the analogy drawn and thanked my friend for the explanation that hit the bull’s eye, aside from giving me food for thought for my current article.

If only it was easier done than said.

Everyone is bound to face failures in different stages of life. The ones who claim to have remained unaffected by it are either lying or aren’t as successful as those who have failed (been there) and collected themselves right back up (done that). If you are averse to facing failures, chances are that you are browbeaten by the growth possibilities it offers. Let us see how overcoming failure can be a mix of resilience and the right attitude.

Solving is Necessary: Be realists and be optimists. Keep ready with a B-plan when faced with a sudden problem. Become a problem solver and don’t fret about the bygones.

Shift the Focus: Don’t focus on yourself when grey skies have engulfed you. Remember, the farther you are from negativity, the more insight, positivity and wisdom you can gain from your encounter with the failure.

What’s in the Name? Oh, you heard Mr X’s new venture failed miserably?”, “He was always a no-calibre-guy, what’s the brouhaha about?” While critics will do what they are best at – criticise, you should focus on what is best for you – start again.

Failures are Teachers: Some say one should fail on purpose while others counsel you to take a leap of faith in pursuit of your dream, to fail but successfully. So go the whole hog and ditch mediocrity.

Disappointments can be turned into meaningful successes if you yearn to find learning in your failure. You must know that there isn’t anything personal and given that in life nothing is certain, one has to keep going and keep finding opportunities in the most adverse of situations.

All Work and No Play.

We go clueless if we have to talk about work and play in the same breath. The off-days are either spent resting or with friends and family, hanging out or in the comforts of one’s home. Playing or any amount of physical activities is often thought of as tiresome, fatigue-inducing and unachievable. In their mid-twenties, when people start earning and going to office, a trend of discontinuing and negating all physical exercise from their routine starts cultivating, albeit rather compulsively.

Experts have said that the secret to great work is great play, and that the latter boosts creativity. It’s an important part of anyone’s life to nurture happiness and the lack of it often results in depression and anxiety. There comes a time in everybody’s life when they realise the importance of balancing their work and their play. No matter what you have taken into, going out, breathing fresh air and spending an hour at play is extremely important. Let’s see how making time for both work and play in the lives of today’s generation too busy can be helpful:

The Three R’s: Rest, Recreation and Relaxation – these three words alone can shape up your leisure life. When prioritising your tasks, allot time to these three activities and think of how you’d be working towards them. The three R’s will be responsible in restoring positivity, getting balance and helping refresh your lives.

Connect, Share, Learn: When in office, start a weekend play session at a place convenient to everyone and encourage everyone to join in. Choose a game, follow up, get together and play. The people who you are spending maximum hours of the day with are the best people you can share joy, happiness and fun with.

Keeps Emotions in Check: One of the better advantages of playing is that it puts you in a challenging situation and leaves you wondering, often thinking on your feet, about how to get out of it. People learn how to handle emotions like fear, anger, resentment, negativity. You might not realise the importance of that while you are playing, but it will certainly reflect at the time of decision-making during emotion-provoking situations. It will come naturally to you. So, make it a daily practice and consider it as important as your work.

Many A Option: It is not just physical activity or exercise that constitute “play”. It is much more. It can be dancing, aerobics, gymnastics, playing any sport, running, cycling, playing indoors at work, gym-work-out, etc. Anything that can improve your social skills, make you happy, teach you perseverance, foster creativity and learning, teach you the joy of watching others play, etc. So, find one such activity and start playing today.

Now that you have gone through the significance of a balanced life, let us know what you think about it in the comments section.