Goals and Setbacks (1-29-25)

Last week was about goals and means. This week is about goals and setbacks.

One of my goals this year was about completing obstacle course races. My first race was supposed to be last Saturday, and it was going to be the Abominable Snow Race. The only problem is that I came down with a nasty flu bug on Thursday, and I didn’t stop running a fever until Saturday night. Needless to say, I wasn’t able to make the race, and that was the first goal I missed for the year. At this point, I have two choices. I can continue to wallow in how sad I am that I missed a goal or I can regroup and get back after it. I may have missed that race, but I can make sure I’m even more prepared for my next one. (Pic is the Yeti and I from last year)

Now let’s make some connections. Have you ever missed achieving one of your goals at work? I have. Have you ever got lost in the downward spiral after missing out? I have. I have sat there and stewed, replaying every mistake, listing every excuse, and becoming so fixated on the negative that I became stuck. None of this was particularly helpful. None of this helped me move forward. Eventually, I had to accept the reality that I missed a goal, and the only thing I could do is regroup, refocus and go again.

The challenge: How will you regroup and refocus when you experience a setback?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Stress Fracture, Setbacks, and Bouncing Back (9-7-22)

Happy Wednesday,

Last week was about taking time to find stillness. This week is about setbacks and bouncing back.

When the doctor told me I had a stress fracture I was happy to know what was going on with my leg, but I was also bummed because I knew this would be a setback for me. had been training for some races during spring/summer that I was excited about. Those goals were now out the window. After that sunk in, I looked at the doctor and said, “Okay, well the fracture kind of stinks. I want to be able to be mobile and ideally, I want to be able to get back to running and doing races. How do I get back to that?” At that point, he walked me through his plan to help me recover and ease my way back into running. I agreed to his plan and followed it. After a few months I had made nice strides in my recovery, and I recently completed my first obstacle course race since the stress fracture. The race was a lot of fun and I and was proud of my performance. I found a good rhythm and most importantly, had no pain throughout the event. It was the first milestone of the comeback, and I have a few more races set up before the end of the year. (Side note, why haven’t I quit my job yet to become a race model? I mean, look at that pic! 😉)

What does this have to do with anything? Whether at work or in life, we’ve all had setbacks. What matters is what happens after we have the setbacks. Do you get stuck where you fell, or do you find a path forward? I do both. Sometimes when the setback comes, I fall and get lost in that failure. I get trapped in a cycle of self-doubt and believing it won’t get better. I lose sight of my goals and purpose, so I struggle finding a path forward. Do you ever feel this way? Other times, I find a way to bounce back. I believe the key to bouncing back is to first allow yourself to full experience the setback, because that’s where the learning comes. Then, you must reorient yourself and refocus on your goals. If you can do that. If you can say, “Yeah, this setback/failure stinks, AND I still have a vision for where I want to go” then your body will find a path forward.

The challenge: How will you respond to setbacks?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Setbacks and Moving Forward (9-30-20)

Last week was about supporting others. This week is about setbacks and taking the next step forward.

The end of July is when my wife first had stomach pains. She went to the hospital and spent about 3 days there. She was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis (setback), which was weird because she never had issues before. Then she came home. A few days later she was in pain again and went back to the hospital (setback). At the hospital we found out she would require intense surgery that is typically used on patients with pancreatic cancer (setback). Surgery went well! She was told she’d be in the hospital for about 4 days and then would go home. She was there for about 10 days (setback).

She came home, and we were all so thankful and excited. She was home for about 3 days before she went back to the hospital (setback). She went into the hospital thinking it would be a couple of days, but it turned out to be another week or so (setback). While in the hospital this time they attempted to put in a feeding tube because she couldn’t hold down food. The feeding tube came out (setback). The next day they tried the feeding tube again (setback). The third day they tried placing the feeding tube with a scope. It was in for about an hour before it was coiled in the back of her throat and had to be removed (setback). Finally, they decided she would need a PIC line so she could get nutrition.

They put in the line and then sent her home on August 31st. The first night she’s home she gets sick all throughout the night (setback). I sleep downstairs on the couch, so I can help her. Over the next few days she continues to get sick (setbacks). Finally, one day she keeps food down. She starts to do a little better. After 2 weeks she’s about 60%. She finally gets off the PIC line. She’s making progress. Now she has some days that are better than others. Sometimes the tiredness comes, another reminder she’s not there yet, another small setback.

Throughout all of the above, I continued to have ups and downs with work and with other stuff going on in life. Often all these setbacks were overwhelming and led to fear and tears. My wife and I would talk and we’d both be worried about whether or not we could handle this. Everything felt too big, too overwhelming. Finally, we realized that the only thing that matters is taking the next step forward. It’s not about having some grandiose victory where we conquer something. It’s about getting knocked back again and again and again, and making the decision to keep trying to move forward after every setback. That’s what we are focused on now as we continue to recover and get back to normal. We know there will be bad days, and we know that we will keep moving forward, no matter how small those steps are.

What does this have to do with anything? I’m sure if we ever talked you could tell me a similar story to the one described above. It might be about work. It might be about health. It might be about relationships. It would be the same story of getting knocked back again and again and again, and you moving forward again and again and again. It’s not an easy story. It’s not a pretty story. However, it is a powerful story that reminds us what we can overcome if we focus on finding ways to move forward. No matter what you might be facing, I pray you have the strength to keep moving forward.

The challenge: Will you keep moving forward?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry