Get Back Up: Using Setbacks as Springboards

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A traumatic event is defined as “a distressing experience that causes significant emotional, psychological, or physical harm.”

Examples of traumatic events include such things as a car accident, a death of a loved one, a breakup, a loss of a job, or an ongoing series of events, like a chronic health problem, continuous physical, emotional or sexual abuse. 

These traumatic events typically trigger a range of intense feelings and emotions, including fear, helplessness, and a sense of being overwhelmed. 

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is defined as “positive psychological changes that emerge as a result of struggling with adversity and trauma.”

PTG includes the idea that individuals can not only recover from a trauma but also experience personal development and transformation. 

PTG involves changes in understanding oneself, others, and the world, and can include increased personal strength, appreciation for life, and a shift in priorities. 

PTG was developed by psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun.

According to Tedeschi and Calhoun the five most common areas of growth after trauma include:

1. Greater appreciation of life.
2. Stronger relationships.
3. New possibilities for living.
4. Personal strength.
5. Spiritual change.

How can you use PTG to overcome any traumas you have experienced in your own life?

1. Reframe the trauma as a temporary setback. To reframe means to change the way you interpret or think about a situation, especially one that seems negative, in order to see it from a more empowering or constructive perspective.  Reframe your trauma with discernment (i.e., without judgement) as a temporary setback. A temporary setback is a short-term adversity, obstacle or disruption in your life that slows your progress but doesn’t define your overall path or potential. It’s a life challenge, but is not a defeat.  Take responsibility for initiating change, growth and transformations in your own life.
2. Ask open ended questions about the temporary setback.  Open-ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”  Instead, open-end questions require you to reflect in a positive way, then explain and elaborate.  Ask open end questions to gain insights and positive information from your own intuition.  For example, ask yourself these questions to fully explore your temporary setback:
   • “What is this temporary setback teaching me about myself?”
   • “How can the temporary setback, shape or re-shape who I am today?”
   • “Why do I think that this temporary setback affected me so deeply?”
   • “What strengths did I not know I had that this temporary setback exposed?”
   • “Do I need to pivot or change direction right now?
3. Use the temporary setback to re-empower yourself.  After a temporary setback, start by rebuilding your confidence and trust in in yourself.  That will help you re-empower yourself.  Being empowered, is knowing exactly who you are, knowing you are supported by a higher power and having a clear vision for yourself and others. Strive for and progress but not perfection. Building confidence and self-trust is about taking responsibility for your own growth and proving to yourself, through small simple actions, that you’re capable and worthy. Start by committing to such small simple actions daily, then follow through. Such small simple actions include for example:
   • Start each day with one positive empowering thought and say it out loud.
     Example: “Today, I choose to feel good.”  Positive words in an empowering thought lead to the generation of positive emotions.
   • Be honest with yourself about your feelings.
   • Example: “Today, I am going say what I am feeling.”  Express and don’t repress your feelings.
   • Spend five minutes doing something just for the joy of it.
   • Example: Sing along song on the radio, dance whether someone is watching or not, play with pet, view a sunrise, sunset, etc. Joy begins to create new magic in your life.
   • Stand up straight, look up and take 3 deep breaths.
   • Example: Posture shifts energy the energy in your body.  Looking up brings in positive energy. Breath resets your nervous system.
   • Take a short walk without your phone.
   • Example: Moving your body is moving your mindset to something positive. Try walking backwards as well.  Walking backwards creates new neural pathways in your brain that helps shift your mindset.

Traumas are life’s hardest moments, but can be the very thing that propels you into a new stronger version of yourself and create a significant positive impact in your life.  

Out There on the Edge of Everything®…

Stephen Lesavich, PhD

Copyright © 2025 by Stephen Lesavich, PhD.  All rights reserved.

Certified solution-focused life coach and experienced business coach.

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