Take our Resilience Test

Find a therapist near me

One of the most common traps I see is not the setback itself, but the meaning we attach to it.

Our negative thoughts quickly turn into something like: "Why bother trying again?"

Small stumbles are inevitable, but turning them into negative identity statements is optional.

I often hear the same pattern play out in my counseling office, in relationship ups and downs, in classrooms, in the workplace, and when stepping on a scale. Someone is trying to get healthier, has a night of emotional eating, or a parent loses their patience after a tough day at work, or a child of any age gets a poor grade on a test.

When we step back and look at these isolated negative events, they often do not reflect the real picture of how we are doing in life. But within minutes, our........

© Psychology Today