12月7日，举行完庄严的升旗仪式之后，王涵老师带来了以“如何面对挫折”为主题的国旗下讲话：
Roger Crawford has said that“Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.”
Like it or not, setbacks are a part of day-to-day living. No one can escape it. It’s life’s way of teaching and helping us develop character.Setbacks come in different magnitudes: some complete walk-overs and others so challenging that they drain the lifeblood out of us.But,it’s not the setbacks that are the problem. It’s how we respond. LikeCharles R. Swindollhas said“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”That fact that you are still reading this suggests that you want to respond optimally and you want to learn how.
Below I share 3 strategies you can employ so your setbacks are stepping stones to your success and not obstacles in your way.
1. Welcome Setbacks and Be Mature About It
Are there still people who get angry at the rain? Well, I don’t know one and if I had to guess anyone who would, I would think of a child or an immature person.?Kilroy J. Oldster?asserts a similar stance when he says:“Mature people expect hardships and setbacks and patiently and determinedly work to accomplish their goals. Immature people lash out in anger and frustration when circumstances conspire to blunt their short-term objectives.”Embracing setback is a mature attitude to life. It is analogous to Abraham Lincoln’s quote of a “sharpened axe” — ready to cut any tree down — no matter how big.
2. Perform Setback Diagnosis
“If we experience any failures or setbacks, we do not forget them because they offend our self-esteem. Instead we reflect on them deeply, trying to figure out what went wrong and discern whether there are any patterns to our mistakes.” Our setbacks are always laden with information — information for learning. Information on the causes of failure and ways to improve upon it. Bill Gates is known to have said that “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Hence, don’t skip this step. Sometimes the cause of our setbacks are systemic and doing this will prevent the repetition of past mistakes.“Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.” Also, I have found that reading and interaction with people who have encountered similar setbacks can be enlightening and encouraging.
3. Recognize Setbacks As Seeds of Opportunity and Growth
Every successful enterprise you see today was developed out of a problem or challenge. Successful people always refer to one setback that changed everything — the one that became their springboard to success. The point here is to know that our setbacks have opportunity gems within them.
“How many people are completely successful in every department of life? Not one. The most successful people are the ones who learn from their mistakes and turn their failures into opportunities.”
“When life gives you lemons, you don’t make lemonade. You use the seeds to plant a whole orchard — an entire franchise!
That’s the end of my speech. Thanks for listening!
