What a Setback Can Teach You
Originally shared January 30, 2025 in the Naked Sunday Newsletter. Adapted for the journal.
What if the biggest setback in your life was just a blessing in disguise?
There’s a saying: “Never let a good tragedy go to waste.”
It’s hard to see it in the moment when pain or loss hits, but if you let yourself zoom out, you start to see the truth: these moments don’t happen to us—they happen for us.
This week, a friend and client of mine told me he broke his leg during a motorcycle training. His first comment?
“Looks like I won’t be getting to the gym for a while.”
I felt for him—injuries like that are tough. But after checking in on how he was feeling, I shared a story about a client I worked with years ago.
She’d come into the gym one day, cast on her foot, leaning on crutches, and completely distraught. She’d wrecked her ankle in an accident and was worried about how she’d lose all the progress she’d made.
But instead of focusing on what she couldn’t do, we shifted gears.
She had always wanted to do a pull-up, but we never prioritized it in her training. With her lower body sidelined for a few months, I told her, Now’s our chance.
Over the next three months, she trained with focus and determination. Not only did she hit her goal of doing pull-ups, but she became an inspiration to the other women at the gym. Her lower body strength came back quickly once she healed, and now she had an incredible upper-body skill to match.
She ended up stronger than she’d ever been—physically and mentally—because of an injury she once saw as a setback.
That’s the sentiment I shared with my friend.
And it’s the sentiment I keep coming back to in my own life.
When I think about my own darkest moments, they’re tied to some of my biggest blessings.
I met my wife and my best friend during one of the hardest years of my life, after a falling out with my first business partner. I was dead broke, living with an incredible family who had been clients at my gym. That painful chapter pushed me to chart my own path, develop the skills I now use to help others, and build a deeper vision for my life.
It was during that season of struggle that I learned the true power of connection and forgiveness. I even reconciled with that same business partner years later, and now I can help others heal and grow through their own difficult relationships.
Without that setback, none of it would’ve happened.
I wouldn’t have the life I have now, the people I love, or the purpose I wake up for every day.
When you’re in the middle of pain or struggle, it feels impossible to see the bigger picture. But when you look back, you realize those moments were pivotal—they’re the milestones that shape who you are.
The setbacks, the failures, the heartbreak—they push us beyond our comfort zones, force us to confront our self-limiting beliefs, and connect us with the people and lessons we need most.
The question is, how will you approach the pain when it shows up?
Will you fight against it, or will you embrace it as part of your journey?
Looking back, I realize the only thing I would’ve done differently is worry less. I would’ve trusted the process more, leaned into the lessons, and enjoyed the ride.
Because that’s the gift of life.
Every setback, every challenge, every painful moment is helping you become you.
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Until next time…
Love. Every. Body.
