Cultivate Resilience and Learn from Setbacks: The Path to True Growth

Life does not run smoothly on a straight path. We are businessmen, medical professionals, or students; we have to go through setbacks in life that take away at least a part of our confidence and make us less resolute at times. This is the moment when the art of creating resilience among us becomes the biggest asset. Resilience is not only about bouncing back from adversity but also about the continuous learning from those setbacks, growing with it, and the ongoing walk with enhanced clarity and determination.

Understanding Resilience: The Core of Success

At its core, resilience is the ability to adapt in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, or significant stress. It’s a skill set of psychological and emotional tools that helps us maintain hope and direction during moments of failure or challenge. The American Psychological Association regards resilience as something not from within an individual. It involves behaviours, thoughts, and actions that everybody can learn and develop. But why is resilience so important?

Take, for instance, the determination of the former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, also a noted scientist. At one point in time, when Dr. Kalam, as a young engineer in ISRO – Indian Space Research Organisation – his team badly needed a success with the launch SLV-3 satellite launch vehicle; its failure to put the satellite in orbit was indeed a setback. The failure could have easily discouraged him, but he and his team learned from the mistakes, re-ensured, and eventually succeeded. It was this determination to persist after failure that laid the foundation for India’s future as a space power. In the words of Dr. Kalam himself: “Man needs difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy success.”Failure is a fact of life, but resilience is that link between defeat and victory. It helps one look at a challenge as an opportunity for growth.

Learning to Use Failure

Around the world, many successful men and women, as well as great businesses, have been built on resilience.

Think of Thomas Edison, who was probably considered the most popular inventor of all time. He failed over 1,000 experiments before he was able to invent the light bulb. When asked about his failure, he quipped, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” That was the resilience of Edison and embracing failure as a part of the learning curve until one of the greatest inventions of the modern era was developed.

A more recent example is in sports: one of India’s most celebrated cricketers, Virat Kohli, faced massive criticism at the beginning of his career. From not knowing how to score runs, to being questioned about his temperament, Kohli endured a decent amount of professional setbacks. Perseverance, self-discipline, and a commitment to continuous improvement allowed Kohli to turn those challenges into fuel. Today, he is considered one of the best batsmen to have ever played the game of cricket. Kohli’s story is a perfect example of how resilience in the heat of criticism and failure can create monumental success.

The Role of Setbacks in Shaping Success

Many setbacks are uncomfortable, but such is often a venue to growth. In fact, some have argued that a degree of failure or difficulty early in life enhances long-term resilience. For example, one study appearing in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that those who had faced adversity enjoyed advantages in managing subsequent challenges compared to those who never encountered serious difficulties. This finds appreciation in the ancient parable of the potter and the clay from India. According to the story, a potter fashions clay into a pot; however, it has strength only after it is submitted to the furnace. In short, without the heat of the furnace, it would not have solidified to become tough and usable. Similarly, in life, it is through setbacks that man is strengthened by his challenges. It is through setbacks and adversity that we grow and gain wisdom in life, and it is how we develop our resilience.

Building Resilience Strategies

Resilience in such situations is not an inherent trait; in fact, it’s a developed skill through practice. Herein are some of the ways through which resilience can be developed and, using it, one learns from setbacks:

Change your perspective: When there are setbacks, one needs to learn to look at it from a broad perspective. Instead of dwelling on the problem, consider what your setback can teach you. For example, Mahatma Gandhi, despite failures and even imprisonments, never gave up the pursuit of Indian independence. He learned to use every setback as a stepping stone, always keeping the big goal foremost and not being deterred by immediate obstacles.

Create a Support System: Most resilient people are also good at building social networks. Friends, family, or mentors can be important for emotional support and pragmatic advice when problems get tough. To this point, one example is that Steve Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985 but found support among his close circle. It permitted him to reboot himself into the creation of Pixar and then back into Apple, where he restarted the future of the company.

Practice Self-Compassion: Resilience does not mean burying your emotions and acting just fine when everything is not. Being resilient means you can acknowledge your feelings and accept them, being kind to yourself. If setbacks happen, now is the time for self-compassion. Allow yourself to feel disappointment and do not dwell on negative emotions. Setbacks have been part of forging ahead in life, so remind yourself of that fact.

Nothing is Permanent Except Change: Change is inevitable. Resilient people are flexible to the change; they open up and learn not to resist it, instead, to move with the tide. For instance, COVID vaccination made several businesses change their strategies. Those who adapted and moved to embracing more digital transformations and newer business models are those coming out stronger.

Allowed Realistic Goals: Resilience is all about taking one step at a time. Setting small and achievable goals allows you to get back into control and momentum after any setbacks. For example, if there is professional failure, one should not go on wasting their precious time on what went wrong but on thinking about what one will improve in the time to come. And it is long-term success through these small improvements.

In Conclusion

Resilience is the way into the lessons that lie within setbacks. From Edison’s failures in entrepreneurial ventures, Kohli’s setbacks in sports, to the wisdom of philosophical insight from Gandhi, remember this: setbacks do not define you; what does is your response. Every setback, if met with resilience, takes you closer to your highest potential.

Learn more about how to become a Top Performer at: ORL Leadership Summit 2024.

Dr. Prahlada N.B
MBBS (JJMMC), MS (PGIMER, Chandigarh). 
MBA (BITS, Pilani), MHA, 
Executive Programme in Strategic Management (IIM, Lucknow)
Senior Management Programme in Healthcare Management (IIM, Kozhikode)
Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Leadership and Innovation (MIT, USA)
Advanced Certificate in AI for Digital Health and Imaging Program (IISc, Bengaluru). 

Senior Professor and former Head, 
Department of ENT-Head & Neck Surgery, Skull Base Surgery, Cochlear Implant Surgery. 
Basaveshwara Medical College & Hospital, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India. 

My Vision: I don’t want to be a genius.  I want to be a person with a bundle of experience. 

My Mission: Help others achieve their life’s objectives in my presence or absence!

My Values:  Creating value for others.