1. Consider it a setback, no more than a bend in the road on the certain journey towards eventual success. Didn’t get the promotion? So what? If it was part of a 10-year plan, one knock-back shouldn’t deter us.
2. Don’t fear failure. Those who do often employ avoidance techniques – disrupting a task or pretending not to care – so they fail by default.
3. See it as eliminating what won’t work. Why not assume 10 sales pitches for every proposal and five proposals for every sale?
4. Learn the lessons. Successes and failures teach us things. Focus on this and avoid the arrogance of victory or the despair of defeat.
5. Be strategic. In relationships, both personal and professional, a strategic defeat might work to our long-term advantage.