Have you ever feel like you're making progress, only to hit a wall—or have a really big, unexpected setback? What if setbacks weren’t signs to quit, but instead, a sign to slow down, to regroup and re-evaluate?
As you know, last August, I tore my ACL and had surgery to fix it. Feeling motivated, excited and grateful to be alive, I set a bold goal: run a 5K by October 31st. I powered through physical therapy, reminding myself daily: let pain be my guide. I started walking 2 miles a day and really pushing through ... And then… my knee started hurting again. So I went back to the brace, the frustration and the disappointment.
This is the moment when most of us consider giving up in our dreams. Because when things don’t go as planned, quitting starts looking real attractive. But instead of giving up, I started asking myself some hard questions:
What does it really mean to give up on a goal?
Am I sending myself the message that I can’t trust my own word?
What if this setback is actually teaching me something?
Here’s what I’ve learned about setbacks:
1. Reframe the Setback
Hitting pause ≠ giving up. Read that again. My knee pain isn’t telling me to quit—it’s telling me to pay attention, to listen to my body, to let my inner wisdom guide me. Sometimes, a setback is just data in disguise. It’s showing us what’s working, what’s not, and what needs tweaking.
2. Audit Your Why
Once I stopped panicking, I took a step back and asked myself:
Is this still something I actually want?
Why did I set this goal in the first place?
How does this serve me long-term?
Sometimes, we outgrow goals. Other times, we just need a new approach. And sometimes, we just let the ego set the goals, not because they aligned with our values, but because those are things we "should" do. Either way, checking in on your "why" makes it easier to keep going—or pivot without guilt.
3. Adjust Without Abandoning
There’s a difference between changing course and quitting altogether. Maybe I won’t run that 5K in October. Maybe I need to focus on strength training first, maybe I will walk it. That doesn’t mean I won’t get there, it just means that it might look different than what I had planned. The goal stays. The plan evolves, stay flexible to see other possibilities, you never know what could happen.
4. Honor Your Investment
Look, I’ve already put in months of hard work. Just because I hit a roadblock doesn’t mean all that effort was for nothing. Every step forward counts. Even the wobbly ones. If you quit at the first sign of trouble, you might never get there or you might need to start over and over again. Take a break!
5. Trust the Process (Even When It Sucks)
Growth is messy. It’s never a straight line. And if you’re navigating one of those "in-between" spaces—whether it’s cultural identity, career shifts, or personal growth—you already know this. The magic happens in the detours.
6. Make Peace with the Pause
Sometimes, taking a break is the best move. Not out of laziness, but out of strategy. If a goal is meant for you, it will stick around. And when you’re ready, you’ll come back to it stronger and clearer.
So, here’s what I’m reminding myself (and you, in case you need it too): setbacks aren’t stop signs. They’re just yield signs. They’re life’s way of saying, pause, look around, then keep going.
P.S. Ever hit a setback that made you rethink your goals? How did you handle it? Hit reply and tell me—I’d love to hear your story, and who knows, your words might be exactly what someone else needs today.
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