Welcome.
I'm so glad you're here.
As we reflect together today.
Feel free to sit.
Lay down,
Or go for a walk.
Whatever will help you to focus on the present moment.
And give you the opportunity to possibly start seeing life's setbacks as your greatest teachers.
Your eyes can be open or closed for this one.
Unfortunately,
Or maybe fortunately.
We will face difficulty in our lives.
It's inevitable that the human experience comes with many ups and downs.
The goal isn't to try and avoid hardship altogether.
That is literally impossible.
But we can work on the relationship with the setbacks we face.
And the relationship with ourselves when it happens.
Take a deep breath as we arrive together in this moment.
Maybe a few more if that feels good for you.
Especially if this chapter in life has been extra challenging.
It can be really,
Really hard to move through difficulty in life.
I mean really hard.
We aren't here to deny our experiences and pretend like everything is a-okay when things are tough.
But,
We are here to be with ourselves fully when they are.
Part of becoming more resilient after a setback.
Is embracing the fact that not everything is great all the time.
If we fight that fact,
Challenges can feel even heavier to carry.
Another component of becoming more resilient after a setback.
Is taking responsibility for how we choose to respond to the cards we've been dealt.
The more often we can lean into our wise awareness and the power to choose our responses.
The more often we can let the frictions in our life build momentum for us instead of slow us down.
We won't be perfect every time.
So be kind to yourself when it's hard to choose to see difficulty as for you instead of against you.
But we can practice.
So let's start with awareness.
Think of a challenge.
Something you've been facing recently that has been difficult for you.
And has felt like it has set you back.
It doesn't have to be something huge or triggering.
But something that you're okay with looking at right now.
Even if it's hard.
Some things can be painful.
Yet a deeply humbling teacher.
If we see it for what it is.
So think of this challenge.
What are their circumstances?
Who is involved.
How does it make you feel?
Let's acknowledge together that this is hard.
Say to yourself.
This setback is challenging me right now.
I acknowledge that this is hard.
And I am leaning into myself and my awareness right now.
I am aware that this setback is difficult.
If there are any heightened emotions living inside you surrounding this setback,
Notice them.
It's okay that they're there.
Breathe deeply into any feelings that arise.
Inviting the heightened charge of them.
The sharp edge of the emotion.
To gently subside if and when it's ready to soften.
Breathe into them.
It's important not to suppress how we feel.
However,
As we breathe into whatever is there.
We are making the conscious choice to not become the emotion.
To not become the challenge.
To not let the setbacks stop us from moving forward.
We are just noticing the emotion.
And allowing the charge to gently dissipate a bit with our breathing.
Those emotions?
They are wonderful information and a glimpse into our inner world.
However,
Emotions that remain in the dark.
Ones that get the better of us without the reflection and awareness they deserve.
Those emotions can become stuck in us.
And that rumination on the emotion over and over again.
The wild replaying of an unprocessed emotion.
That's what can actually hold us back.
We are choosing to become aware of it.
And feel it.
So that it can set us free you need to pause the meditation to feel into your emotions a bit more.
You always have that opportunity.
But when you feel ready.
Let's begin to see the setback for what it is.
Without the supercharged emotions around it.
In one matter-of-fact sentence.
Tell yourself what this setback is.
For example,
Okay,
My business has taken a turn that I didn't expect.
This is the challenge I'm facing.
Or perhaps,
Okay,
My flight has been delayed and I may miss my connecting flight.
This is the challenge I'm facing.
Maybe it's.
.
.
Okay,
I did everything I was meant to do,
But something got derailed along the way.
This is the challenge I'm facing.
Become aware of the challenge you're facing.
With simple,
Plain words of recognition.
And now,
As you simply recognize the setback for what it is.
Gently remind yourself.
I don't need to make this challenge heavier than it already is.
I don't need to make this challenge.
Heavier than it already is.
I don't need to make this challenge heavier than it already is.
Take a few deep,
Cleansing breaths Now let's build our resilience with choice You have the power to choose what these setbacks can mean for you.
And if you want to let them get in your way or teach you.
Let's step into our resilience and choose our response to the setback that has come our way.
Gently say to yourself with my awareness of the setback I can choose how I want to respond to it.
Challenges invite me to grow.
The lessons I learn from this setback can lead me to my greatest achievements.
I choose to find one small thing.
That I am being taught through this setback.
Now think of that thing.
It doesn't have to be the biggest lesson of your life.
But what is one thing that this setback is helping you learn?
How beautiful is it that we have the freedom to choose how we want to view our setbacks.
A large part of our character is built through how we adapt and learn from quote-unquote failure.
Let those failures serve you.
Our setbacks can be a beautiful opportunity to learn,
Grow,
And maybe even shift our trajectory towards a direction we are more meant to be going in.
Some setbacks are massively challenging.
Remember.
That's okay.
It's a part of life.
We don't ignore them.
Become aware of what is difficult.
Notice the emotions around it.
And then.
.
.
Make a choice to find one small thing.
That you can learn.
Every single moment of our lives doesn't have to be over-analyzed or picked apart.
But the setbacks that we face can be an amazing moment to build our capacity to move through our setbacks.
Rather than collapse into them.
Every time we learn something,
We become stronger.
More resilient.
You've got this.
Take a step towards the opportunity life is handing you today.
Maybe stand a little bit taller or let a smile fall upon your face,
Knowing that you're building your resilience.
And that you're getting stronger within these beautiful opportunities of setback.
Again,
You've got this.
Thank you for sharing this reflection with me.
And I can't wait to practice with you again soon.
