I've got to be honest. I've suffered a setback. I've slipped back a bit to my old ways of working too much and allowing my stress to climb too high.
For me, the biggest weakness I have is to allow work to consume too much of my time and my mind. I don't shut off the business and cause myself unnecessary stress. Most of this is of my own doing. I truly believe we all have a choice when it comes to work life balance.
If you do not like where you're at, you either need to change your attitude or change your situation.
I live by this motto and you should too. We spend far too much time complaining and far too little time actively directing our own play. And spare me the excuse that you're stuck for X, Y, or Z reason. You're stuck if you let yourself be stuck. You move forward if you choose to take steps forward.
I've allowed myself to be consumed by my job because well, old habits die hard. I've taken the stresses home and dwelled too long on the pieces I don't enjoy. I can feel it in my lack of sleep, difficulty focusing, and my pulling away from the people around me. I'm irritable, exhausted, and easily frustrated.
It's not a fun realization when I see myself slipping back into my old way of living.
Thankfully, I've caught myself on the downward slide and I'm confronting the issues head on. I'm deciding to put a stop to it and turn myself right back around in a positive direction.
I know what you're thinking - am I going to change my attitude or change my situation? Right now, in order to remain sane, I'm changing my attitude. I'm stopping myself when I talk too much about the negative and I'm redirecting my energies to positive situations. If at the end of the day I'm unable to exist in my situation after changing my attitude, then I'll change my situation.
Setbacks are inevitable. Learning to change conditioned behavior is one of the hardest struggles out there. And it only gets worse as we get older. Take comfort in being able to recognize when you're faced with a setback. Cut yourself a break as you reengage your focus and shift your energies to the right path. A setback can easily be turned into one hell of a comeback if you're brave enough to try.