A setback really messes with your head. You find yourself wondering if you will ever get back to your previous level of fitness. Sometimes you even wonder if you have what it takes. Before you know it your wallowing in self pity and your confidence is fragile at best.

The good news is that finding your way out of a setback is easier than you think. But to get there, you must take a proactive approach to get back on track.

First, forgive yourself.

Now that you have way over analyzed everything that you could have and should have done differently, and your feeling stupid and depressed because in hindsight they seem so blatantly obvious, it’s time to let it go! You can’t change it, so don’t dwell on it. File it away for what you’ll do differently next time. Now tell yourself you’re sorry and that from this point forward you will make choices to move yourself closer to your goal. Love and forgive yourself.

Second, break down your big goal into smaller more attainable goals.

When you are coming off an injury, an illness or just time away from running, the thought of running a race at your goal pace can feel so far removed from where you are now. You know what I’m talking about right? When your pace per mile is 3 minutes slower than your goal pace and it’s uncomfortable to boot! It can be depressing! 

Start with where you are now and pick an attainable goal to shoot for over the next week or two. For me when I went through my latest setback, I chose to work towards running 4 to 5 days per week for two weeks. I didn’t even give myself a distance, just get out there are move. If I felt good, I would run a little more. If I felt bad, I would back off and even walk if I needed to. I kept reminding myself, that if I would accomplish this one goal, I would feel more in shape at the end of those two short weeks. I even wrote it in my calendar, “Running will be easier for me by the end of this week!”

Third, focus on what you are doing right.

There are lots of pieces to the training puzzle and when you are in the zone and training at your best everything seems to fall into place. However, when you are trying to get back in shape it’s easy to beat yourself up when things don’t come together.

One night at the park I only made it for a mile and a half. It hurt. And it felt so hard and slow. Afterwards I was talking with a new runner who told me that she had seen me running and was impressed by how fast and smooth I looked. Instead of telling her how bad I felt, I told her thank you and that her encouragement meant a lot since I was coming off of a layoff. The rest of the week I decided to focus on her perception of my reality and not mine. And guess what, throughout the week my runs began to feel easier!

Final thoughts.

Bottom line, sometimes you know exactly what you need to do physically to move forward, but it’s your head that won’t get out of your own way. While these 3 action items are really simple, they are also really powerful in propelling you forward!

What steps have you found that help you overcome a setback? Share them now in the comments below.