This week, our Claire has been for a walk…

On Monday, I was walking home from the cinema when I fell over. After I’d got my breath back and cleaned my wounds with hand sanitiser, I got back on my feet and carried on my journey home. But imagine if I’d laid there on the ground believing that, because I’d fallen, I was rubbish at walking and so there was no point trying. I’d have potentially stayed where I was forever.

This isn’t just true of walking, though, but of life as a whole: progress is impossible if we don’t try. So, when we have a setback, we have to dust ourselves down, get back on our feet and try again. It isn’t as simple as that of course – especially when our brains are wired to giving up easily. However, Lifehack has put together the following list of ways to counteract that:

• Remember why you started and how much you really wanted it
• Look into the reason why you want to give up
• Picture in your mind the ultimate result
• Make a plan and have a backup
• Find support from others
• Be grateful for the good things while struggling
• Celebrate your victories, no matter how small they seem
• Have motivational reminders everywhere

We might also want to reframe failure because, like it or not, life will be full of them. For example, I particularly like the acronym FAIL: First Attempt In Learning. It reminds me that when I fail, I can still learn things. Maybe I learn why I failed or maybe I learn not to do the same thing again but the only way I don’t progress is if I let failure stop me.

For instance, last week I revealed that, in my darkest moments, I couldn’t make it out my front door during the first lockdown. If I’d stopped there, I’d still be indoors and not enjoying getting out and about once more. In reality though, I looked into why I was scared and found the remedy was to get better informed about the virus.

Some say we should not just accept failure but embrace it. This article, for example, argues that failure is key to innovation, stating that “To be innovative, you have to be willing to experiment and fail a few times.” Think about it, if we’re trying something new, the likelihood of us failing at our first attempt is overwhelming. So to develop as people we are better embracing failure than trying to suppress it.

Thankfully, WHISC has a number of courses designed to help us develop new skills and outlooks. There’s one focussed exclusively on self-esteem and two helping to find employment. There’s also many groups and classes that may offer something new to try. Take a look at the What’s On page for more information.

WHISC are also continuing to offer their Listening Ear service. If you want to speak to someone about whatever you’re going through, please call 0151 707 1826 or leave a message on the WHISC Facebook page with your phone number and they’ll ring you back.

Whatever you want to achieve in life, there really is no need to go it alone.