How to Get Back on Track After a Setback
By Mind & Muscle Academy. Newsletter nº34 ; 02/05/2025.
Let’s be real: setbacks suck.
Whether it’s failing a test you thought you crushed, missing a game-winning shot, or falling off your routine - you feel like you’ve taken five steps back and everyone else is sprinting ahead.
But here’s the truth: setbacks aren’t the opposite of progress. They are part of progress.
Learning how to respond makes all the difference.
What’s in This Week’s Article:
Don’t Lie To Yourself
Zoom Out
Rebuild Momentum
Turn the Pain into a Plan
Speak the Language of Growth
1. Don’t Lie to Yourself
The first instinct is denial.
“Oh, I wasn’t really trying.”
“It doesn’t even matter.”
We protect our ego - but that stops us from learning. The best move? Own it.
Say:
“Yes, I fell short. But now I get to grow.”
A study from the University of California (Breines & Chen, 2012) in Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin found that people who practised self-compassion after failure were more motivated to improve than those who avoided the issue or beat themselves up.1
Being kind to yourself isn’t being soft - it’s being smart.
2. Zoom Out
When you’re deep in a setback, it feels permanent.
But zoom out.
One bad day, one failure, one mess-up - it's a dot on your timeline. Not the whole story.
Write this down: Progress is not linear.
You’ll have dips. The key is not to unpack and live there.
Let the setback sharpen you, not define you.
3. Rebuild Momentum (Don’t Wait for Motivation)
You won’t always feel like getting back up. That’s normal.
Start anyway.
Missed a week of workouts? Do 50 push-ups today (if you can, adapt to your level)
Bombed a test? Review 5 key mistakes tonight.
Burnt out? Schedule 20 minutes tomorrow just for a reset.
Small steps rebuild your identity.
Every action is a vote for the person you're becoming.
4. Turn the Pain into a Plan
Ask yourself:
What went wrong - and what will I do differently?
Don’t just “hope” it changes. Strategise.
Examples:
Instead of “I need to stop procrastinating,” say: “I’ll study in 25-minute blocks with no phone around.”
Instead of “I need to get fit again,” say: “I’ll do a 15-minute workout every morning before school.”
Make your comeback concrete.
5. Speak the Language of Growth
Stop saying, “I’m not good at this.”
Start saying: “I’m not good at this yet.”
That one word - yet - turns a fixed mindset into a growth mindset.
You’re not stuck. You’re still writing the story.
P.S. Check out one of our older articles on how to get rid of your fixed mindset!
Final Note:
The strongest people aren’t the ones who never fall.
They’re the ones who fall, feel it, and get up anyway - with more fire than before.
If you're reading this after a setback, good.
It means you're about to write your comeback.
Let’s get back to it.
Stay tuned for more tips, stories, and advice in our upcoming newsletters, and feel free to check out the last editions!
As always, I’m open to new ideas or suggestions you may have, so feel free to leave a comment, and ask any questions! I’d be glad to help!
Thank you all for joining me today, and I wish you a pleasant rest of your day.
Quote of the Day:
Best regards,
Ruben
Founder, Mind & Muscle Academy
Breines, Juliana G, and Serena Chen. “Self-compassion increases self-improvement motivation.” Personality & social psychology bulletin vol. 38,9 (2012): 1133-43. doi:10.1177/0146167212445599