Dealing with Setbacks or Critics? Are You in the Desert of Your Dream?

 "I didn’t think I would play tennis again at one point. I just wanted to make it out of the hospital.” – Wimbledon Champ Serena Williams 

It was inspiring watching Serena come back from what she thought were career-ending injuries, including a pulmonary embolism. She thought she may NEVER play tennis again.

The question is, what kept her going in the desert of her dream? How did she keep the faith in the face of that setback, when it looked like she may never again have the opportunity to pursue her passion and profession?

Good question. Are you starting a business, writing a book, pursuing a dream? Have you encountered setbacks? Long-term projects are often a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, highs and lows. What keeps you going in those lows?

Or perhaps you're dealing with a critic. Someone who is taking pot shots at your work and causing you to question its value or wonder whether it's worth putting yourself "out there."

Hanging out with people who support you, encourage you, and have your back and front, can renew your confidence so you continue pursuing your dream instead of giving it up.

It's also important to continue to SEE yourself achieving your dream … even when it’s not apparent to others, even when you're stalled and it looks like it may never happen.

Keeping the faith and moving forward - no matter what - is a non-negotiable. If you stop, you lose momentum and may end up abandoning your vision, which doesn't serve anyone.

It is up to you to keep believing that what you’re trying to create is possible and worthwhile. Doing so keeps it alive and gives it a chance to succeed because you are doing your half.

I know this may sound woo-woo, but when you go first and do your half, the universe steps up and does its half. It says, "All righty then, let's partner on this."

Soren Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

Looking back, every successful athlete and leader will tell you there were setbacks along the way. At the time, those obstacles may have seemed insurmountable. The setbacks and critics could have drained their will, conviction and caused them to doubt, even to give up.

Instead, they transcended those circumstances and continued to live and look forward. They carried on through the doubts and down times. In doing so, they re-established momentum and moved closer to turning their dream into a reality.

I can only imagine Serena was tempted to give up when she was in pain, when she could hardly walk, when she got the bad news she was going to have to have another surgery.

But Serena wasn’t finished. She believed she still had greatness in her, she still had championships to win. She re-dedicated herself. Instead of abandoning her dream, she re-committed to being and doing her best. As she said, "My story wasn't over yet."

As a result, she reached a rewarding oasis. And the beautiful things is, her well-deserved success wasn't a mirage; it was a well-earned reality.

How about you?

Are you in the desert of your dream? Are things not working out the way you hoped? Have you received bad news? Are people around you not seeing what you’re seeing, not believing what you’re believing? Is there a critic or nay-sayer who is taking pot-shots at you?

Could you choose to “pull a Serena?” Could you re-dedicate yourself and choose to live and look forward, no matter what?

Your dream is still attainable if you keep it alive by persevering in spite of what's happening. If you keep on keeping on, the universe will say, “All righty then, you’re doing your half … we’ll do ours.” Beat-the-odds opportunities and rewarding results will show up that never would have happened otherwise.

Chances are, you're familiar with President Teddy Roosevelt's famous "in the arena" speech. Please re-read it if something is causing you to lose faith in what you're trying to contribute.

They may be just the right words at the right time for you to keep believing in the good deeds you want to do, the worthy cause you want to move forward.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Does this resonate? If so, keep contributing your creative gifts. It matters.

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Sam Horn, CEO of The INTRIGUE Agency, is on a mission to inspire people to lead a quality life that adds value for all involved. Her TEDx talk and books – includingPOP! Tongue Fu! and Washington Post bestseller Got Your Attention? – have been featured on NPR, New York Times and presented to Intel, Cisco, YPO, Boeing, NASA.