It was a cold morning in Delhi at The Leela Ambience back in Jan, 2019. The soft light from the sun provided gentle warmth as I sat down for breakfast with a dear friend. Having worked for a reputable brand for many years, he had dedicated himself completely to his company and team. Our breakfast conversation, intended to be a recap of our professional journeys, soon took an emotional turn as he shared his recent letdown.
 “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill

My friend’s story highlighted that even the most dedicated efforts can sometimes go unnoticed. He had just completed a significant project, solved numerous challenges and elevating it to new heights across the region. Naturally, he expected recognition in the form of a promotion. However, when the time came, he was overlooked by his leader. The emotional sting of not being promoted despite his hard work was evident as he described his disappointment. This scenario is all too familiar to many of us. At some point, everyone faces the disappointment of being let down by people or circumstances.

The immediate emotional response my friend felt included sadness, disappointment, and frustration. The sense of betrayal and demotivation was clear. Despite the initial turmoil, my friend decided not to let this setback define him. He understood the importance of accepting the situation without resistance. This acceptance allowed him to begin moving forward.

Embracing the idea that struggles could be growth opportunities, my friend used positive self-affirmations to fight negative thoughts and focused on the lessons he could learn from this experience.
He reframed the situation by identifying potential benefits like gaining clarity on the skills needed for future promotions and reflecting on personal goals. Learning to be kind to himself, he challenged self-critical thoughts and viewed the setback as a temporary part of his career. Managing these negative emotions allowed him to stay open to new opportunities.
Everyone encounters setbacks, but our response to them shapes our future. My friend’s journey teaches us the importance of accepting reality, cultivating optimism, reframing challenges, and being kind to ourselves. By adopting these strategies, we can transform disappointments into opportunities for growth and resilience.

Reflect on your own experiences. Recall a time when you felt disappointed and consider how you reacted. What strategies did you employ? Share these lessons with others, so they can serve as a guiding light in similar situations.

Last week I came across the question “How do you bounce back when you are let down?” at work. It’s a struggle and I am sure most of you will agree with me on this. Our resilience mostly depends on the day, our hormones and life circumstances. Yet, if I need to exercise some conscious practice to step back when I feel triggered and disappointed, here are the two questions I ask myself:

1) Am I viewing this from the lens of my past experiences?
2) Did the other person really wrong me in some way?

If it’s the former, then I try to sit with my emotions and ground myself in some way, being curious about which experience in the past had made me feel like this and why I am still holding onto those feelings. Sitting with the emotions and processing them isn’t easy for me, some days I succeed, some days I end up avoiding facing my uncomfortable feelings.

If the other person was at fault, I try to communicate it to them. The communication is often imperfect and ends up being a reaction or outburst but I keep trying to get better at processing my emotions and expressing myself better. One small step every day is to step back and regulate myself better.

Do you struggle with bouncing back from being disappointed too? How do you deal with disappointments from your close ones? Do share in comments with me.

My recent Sales Coaching conversations with Account Executives of a large global software giant, revolved around impostersyndrome. What i observed is that imposter syndrome is gender agnostic.

I reflected on how I overcome this, every time an opportunity presents itself for making me feel, “I am not good enough?”

One of my core values is to Speak Up and leverage the power of voice to achieve more for me and others.

While I have developed the courage to be disliked, there are times, when you speak up and feel alone. The people whom who believe and want to stand up for you, don’t, then this feeling of “not being good enough” finds an easy excuse to rattle my physical and mental well-being.

Feeling like an imposter is normal, but my self-coaching practice has been my superpower. It allows me to bounce back and continue creating positive impact.

My Self Coaching has been around:

1. Narrating The impact stories I have co-created, be it in leadership, change and growth.
2. The unwavering commitment to build people to achieve excellence.
3. Seeking authentic conversations with people whom I truly value and take support from.

This helps me to remember, setbacks are inevitable, but my dedication and passion to nurture my core values and align it with what truly matters, helps me develop a growth mindset to counter my ever-green imposter syndrome of “not being good enough!”