After a failed personal experiment, it can be challenging to rebuild your confidence. While we all go through challenges in life, getting back on track is often the most challenging part of a failure.
Today, we’re going to share some of the best ways you can get your life back on track following a failed personal experiment. In no time at all, you’ll feel confident and ready to tackle any challenges that come your way.
The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
⏱ 14 minutes reading time
🎧 Audio version available
Identify The Cause of Your Failure
While you might want to pretend your failure never happened and move on with your life, we recommend taking some time to reflect on what happened. You can’t make positive changes to your life if you don’t identify how you slipped up. By identifying the causes of your failure, you’ll find that you can avoid these issues again in the future.
There are so many different causes of loss when conducting a personal experiment. These might include stress, illness, or situations that are entirely outside of your control. Remember, you aren’t to blame for everything that happens in your life, so reflect on what happened and use these lessons to move forward.
Go Back to The Basics
Regardless of what type of experiment you were working on, it’s time to reset and go back to the basics. If, for example, you were trying a weight-loss experiment or aiming to get fitter, reduce the amount of pressure you put on yourself.
Take the time to adapt to healthy routines and reduce the stress you felt after the failure. Once you’ve taken some time out to rest, eat healthily, and get some exercise, you’ll find that you can reset both your body and mind.
Change Your Environment
Our environment has a significant impact on how we act in life. For example, if you were trying to achieve something in your professional life, you might want to think about where you are working and if your office setup is conducive to the work you are trying to complete.
After a failed experiment, we sometimes need to take a break and take ourselves out of the place where we spend most of our time. Just a short vacation or a day out in nature might be enough to reframe your thoughts and get you back on track.
Hold Yourself Accountable
If you concluded that your actions caused the failure, it’s time to hold yourself accountable. While we don’t want you to blame yourself for things outside of your control, you do want to make positive changes for your future.
Hold yourself accountable for the mistakes you’ve made in the past, and then ensure that you do everything you can to avoid making them again. This is the only way to get your life back on track truly, and the next time you set out to achieve something big, you’ll be much more likely to succeed.
Take a New Approach
Sometimes, all it takes to succeed is a new approach. If the technique and tools you used last time didn’t work, think about how you could tackle this challenge again in the future. Most experiments have multiple possible routes for success, so you might have to try a few different options to finally succeed. If you don’t get the results you want on the first try, don’t give up; try again instead.
Develop Good Habits
Our daily habits play a massive part in our successes in life. Cultivate good morning and evening routines to set yourself up for success each day. The small habits we incorporate each morning can set our minds and body up for the day ahead. If you often find yourself rushing around first thing in the morning and arriving at work stressed and out of sorts, that’s a clear sign that you need to take a step back.
Instead, find a routine that works for you, which might include exercise, meditation, or simply more sleep. For anyone responsible for children, make sure you are setting yourself up for a less stressful morning and evening by creating good routines in your household.
Be Realistic About What You Can Achieve
Many of us like to think we can do much more than is realistic to fit into a single day. You need to take a step back and think about how much you can honestly do in one day, week, or month. It’s impossible to change your body or mind in a few days completely, so keep this in mind when conducting personal experiments.
Try to set realistic, measurable, and achievable goals so you can measure whether you have been successful or not. Don’t try to do too much at one time, or you’ll burn out and end up losing all motivation. You’ll find that you are much more likely to succeed in the future by taking a little pressure off yourself now.
A failed personal experiment doesn’t mean that your life is a complete failure, and in fact, you can use this experience to turn your life around. By following the top tips we’ve shared above, you can reflect on the past and ensure that you don’t make the same mistakes in the future.
Make sure you are setting goals for yourself that are realistic and achievable so that you don’t have too much on your plate at any one time. You’ll notice that by cultivating good routines, you can regain control of your time and energy to work on the projects and passions you are most interested in moving forward.
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