When pursuing a goal, setbacks are inevitable. Plans unravel, obstacles appear, and it can feel as though all the progress you’ve made is slipping away. But when things go awry, it’s critical not to lose sight of the fact that you have made progress. No matter how stuck or discouraged you may feel, the road you’ve already travelled is full of lessons and victories—some small, others significant—that have propelled you toward your goal. The key to overcoming a current breakdown lies in recognising these wins, understanding what worked, and applying those insights to the challenge at hand.
Step 3, in transforming breakdowns into breakthroughs, is all about evaluating the journey so far and identifying the strategies that have moved you forward. This reflection is a strategic exercise that allows you to pinpoint what has worked and use that knowledge to break through your current obstacles.
Why Identifying What Worked Is Crucial
When you’re deep in a breakdown, it’s easy to focus only on what’s going wrong. The frustration of unmet expectations, the anxiety of looming deadlines, and the disappointment of falling short can overwhelm you. But focusing solely on the negative can blind you to the progress you’ve made. The reality is, if you’ve set a goal and started working toward it, you’ve already moved forward. You’ve already experienced wins—whether they’re big milestones or small victories—and acknowledging those wins can be the key to overcoming your current roadblocks.
Recognising what has worked isn’t just an exercise in positive thinking; it’s a strategic move. Every goal is achieved through a series of successful actions, and understanding which of those actions were effective can help you replicate success and navigate future challenges. This step is about more than just patting yourself on the back; it’s about analysing the strategies that have gotten you this far and using them to propel yourself even further.
Highlighting Effective Measures: Reflecting on Successes
- The first task in identifying what worked is to reflect on your journey and catalogue the steps that have contributed to your progress. It may be tempting to skip over this reflection, especially if you feel stuck, but taking the time to assess your progress is vital to moving forward.
Start by asking yourself a few key questions:
- What milestones have I passed on my way to this goal?
- What actions or strategies have led to positive outcomes?
- What did I do when faced with obstacles earlier in this journey?
Capitalising on What Works: A Strategy for the Future
Once you’ve identified the actions that have been effective, the next step is to decipher why they worked. This is where you move beyond merely acknowledging success to truly understanding the factors that led to it. Ask yourself:
- Was it the timing?
- Did I allocate resources effectively?
- Was there a specific method or strategy that gave me an edge?
Understanding why something worked is just as important as recognising what worked. Perhaps you were successful because you allowed yourself enough time to handle unexpected issues, or maybe you delegated certain tasks to others who were more skilled in specific areas. This analysis enables you to uncover patterns and strategies that can be adapted to your current situation.
For example, during a previous challenge, you may have successfully handed off tasks to more qualified team members. This delegation allowed you to focus on higher-priority aspects of the project, helping you to meet your deadlines. If your current obstacle feels overwhelming, reflecting on this success may reveal that delegating tasks again could be the solution.
A Personal Example: Recognising Wins in the Midst of a Breakdown
On a trip back from Congleton, I found myself facing an unexpected delay. My plan to arrive home by 7pm was quickly falling apart due to heavy traffic, and frustration began to set in. It would have been easy to focus solely on the negative—the roadblock, the delay, the unmet goal—but instead, I took a moment to reflect on the journey up to that point.
The first leg of my trip had gone exactly as planned. I had built-in buffers for potential delays, which allowed me to enjoy a coffee break with time to spare. Additionally, my adaptive navigation system had intelligently recalibrated the route, helping me avoid delays up to that point. These aspects of my planning were successful, and this reflection wasn’t just a break from frustration—it was a strategic moment. I realised that the flexibility I had woven into my schedule was one of the key reasons I wasn’t completely derailed.
Recognising what had worked allowed me to shift my focus from frustration to problem-solving. I could see that the same principles—planning for flexibility, relying on adaptive systems, and staying calm in the face of delays—could help me navigate the rest of the trip. This reflection didn’t change the fact that I was running late, but it gave me a clear path forward, rooted in strategies that had already proven effective.
In my upcoming book, “Winning the Game”, I have an entire chapter on transforming breakdowns into breakthroughs and how to apply this concept in more detail to various areas of life and business.
Applying Successes to the Current Breakdown
This third step in transforming breakdowns into breakthroughs is not just about recognising past successes—it’s about leveraging those successes to create a plan for the future. Once you’ve identified the strategies that have worked, the next question is: How can I apply these strategies to my current situation?
Often, the answer lies in adapting or scaling up the methods that have already shown results. If delegation worked before, delegate again. If building in flexibility allowed you to succeed, adjust your schedule to incorporate that same flexibility moving forward. The solutions to your current breakdown may be hiding in the strategies that led to your past breakthroughs.
In moments of difficulty, it’s easy to let setbacks overshadow your progress. But no matter where you are in your journey, you’ve already achieved something—whether it’s small steps or major milestones. Identifying what has worked up to this point is not just a way to boost your confidence; it’s a strategic move that can illuminate the path forward.
By recognising the actions and strategies that have contributed to your past success, you’re not only affirming the progress you’ve made—you’re also building a toolkit for future challenges. Remember, every goal is achieved through a combination of efforts, and within your past wins lie the clues for overcoming your current obstacles.
So, take a moment to reflect on your journey. Identify what has worked, understand why it worked, and apply those lessons to the challenges you face today. In doing so, you’ll transform your breakdowns into breakthroughs, paving the way for future success.