Something happened to me recently as I started my day out — I had some setbacks and obstacles, and I just felt really defeated.

You might think I’m supposed to be exempt from these things because…I’m a coach; I’m supposed to be an encourager; I’m supposed to be somebody that’s winning!

Instead, that day I just felt like I was sliding down a hill. I felt and acted like I was defeated. I wasn’t taking the actions that I should. The good thing is I didn’t stay here in this place and let defeat win.

Here’s a couple of tips that should help you out when you have a day like I did. Don’t let defeat take you out!

First of all, get clear about what is happening in your situation. Instead of wallowing in your defeat, take ahold of it and turn it into a learning experience. By doing this, you can turn it into a win!

You might ask how can you do this?

Change your mindset.

Instead of just staying in that defeated mentality, take action by asking yourself these questions:  What is this thing that is defeating me? What’s making me feel like I can’t achieve today? What’s preventing me from making forward progress?

Identify what that challenge or problem is.

Put that problem that’s defeating you on the sidelines. Then ask yourself what are the things right now or today that I can do that can get me back into winning. What can I do to move forward, feel better about the situation or help me feel like I’m making progress? Don’t let defeat keep you down.

Wrestle defeat to the ground.

You can do this by putting it aside and saying the pity party is over. I refuse to feel defeated. Game over! That match is finished!

Focus on learning which leads to winning.

With defeat set aside, focus back on the things that are going to bring you into a learning mode. Learn from your situation and from there you can move on to winning for the day.

Hopefully this will help you realize that you don’t need to stay down in that defeated state. You can overcome defeat and turn it into a lesson of learning and then move forward to the winning stage.

I know that as an entrepreneur, business owner and leader this is something you deal with all the time but nobody really wants to talk about it. We all have challenges and can feel defeated at times.

But the key is to not stay there. Get clear about what the problem is. What is it that is defeating you? Why do you feel defeated? What is going on and/or what’s happening? Then, change your mindset and move on to do something counterintuitive to that problem or challenge. You will then be learning from your situation and winning in the long run!

We’d love to hear your story of how you’ve turned a defeated situation into a win! Send us an email and tell us about it.