The Subtle Art Of Comeback By Dr. Chirag Jain

The Game of Life

Life is complicated. We shouldn’t waste time finding answers because each time we do see the answer, life changes the questions. Sounds familiar, right? I am sure that we have all faced unexpected situations at some stage in our life. Calculations have gone wrong, or plans have changed at the last moment.

Life has always been unpredictable for everyone. Be it a child or the most powerful person; no one is spared! Many times things do not turn out as we wish them to be, this being true for every professional and individual. As parents and adults, when we raise our children or hold on to a failing relationship, these unpredictable situations follow us. It is not every time we can overcome them. Yet, learning of the art of the comeback, even if subtly, is vital.

Don’t Lose Hope

But all is not lost. Comebacks are possible, as a matter of fact, they happen all the time. When you are experiencing a setback, a comeback may seem impossible to you. Life is full of setbacks, no matter who you are. Financial problems, health issues, divorce, loss of a loved one – these and many more visits all of us. The challenge is how you can overcome your setback. How do you take a setback and make a comeback?

Welcome the Change

The art of comeback depends on change. Change is the only constant and universal truth. It should be our mantra in life too as no two things are the same in this world. We fear change because we fear the unknown. But the ‘unknown’ is also the future. And for a better future, a comeback after a setback is necessary. A comeback will always begin with change. If you want a comeback, you are going to have to change. Unless you change what you presently are doing or not doing, things are going to remain the same; there will be no comeback. You must be willing to do things differently from what you’ve done up to this point. Accept the change, challenge and analyze it and only then accept it.

Types of ‘Change’

• Change happens when you receive new information or gain new knowledge – this is a change of mind.
• Change happens when you get a new attitude when you decide that your way of thinking is going to change – this is a change of heart. Change always happens when choose to be committed – this will change your future.
• Accepting the change and gearing for a comeback is an indication that you want to give life another try and start afresh.

Accept the No, Cherish the Yes

Like it or not, success doesn’t always happen overnight. Some of the world’s most famous achievers heard the word ”NO” at least once, i.e., the luckier ones and rest, more than a few times, before getting that all-important, life-changing ”YES.”

Whether you’re powering through midterms or revamping your business model, here are a few successful people who prove that the best way to face failure is just to keep going.

1. Sudha Chandran

She is an Indian television and film actress and an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer who lost her leg when she was 16 because of a road accident while on pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu. The bus she was travelling in hit a truck and her feet got stuck in the chaos. Her right foot was critically injured. Unfortunately for her, the doctors’ negligence cost Sudha her right leg.

”To stop the spread of the infection, her right leg had to be amputated 7.5 inches below the knee.”

Very rarely we come across people who have the courage and heart to make a comeback after tragedy strikes their personal lives.

May 2nd, 1981 was the day that changed Sudha Chandran forever. But she proved that she was not a quitter. She started to lose all hopes as she realized with every dance session while wearing the artificial leg, her foot began to bleed, and the pain became more severe as the pace of her dancing increased. But she was determined to overcome it.

It was after all this, that she received so much respect from the media, got an offer to act in a film based on her life and received tons of opportunities.

2.cJK Rowling

Five years before publishing one of the most influential books of the 21st century, J.K. Rowling was living on welfare and struggling as a single mother.

Rowling wrote the first book in the Harry Potter series while working during the night as a teacher, but the manuscript was rejected 12 times by the publisher. When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone eventually did get published, Rowling was advised not to quit her day job since her chance of success was slim. And, today, with over 450 million Harry Potter books sold worldwide, we all know how that turned out!

3. Steven Spielberg

Now one of Hollywood’s most respected directors, Steven Spielberg was rejected by his school of choice for film three different times. But he didn’t let that stop him.

Spielberg eventually secured an internship at Universal Studios after enrolling in a different college. During that internship, he was asked to direct a small film, with his work impressing Universal executives so much that they offered him a seven-year contract. He became the youngest director ever to-be-hired by the studio.

So, I decided to explore the reasons why some people can stage a comeback while others fail.

5 Tips for a Successful Comeback:

• View the new change as an opportunity. View it as a new lease of life, a path to explore.
• Excuses are not allowed. Your explanations, if you were to analyze them, are hollow and make-believe.
• Ask for help. No one is perfect and the sooner we accept this, the better it is for us. So, ask for help. Seek advice. Work on your performance.
• Most importantly, stay positive.
• Keep trying. Try and work harder as a failure, though an option, is not the end of the world.

This prompted me to write a book on the same. What a comeback is a book that is an inspiring journey of 10 friends who go through torrid times in their lives. I have tried to explain the concept of a comeback through their journeys. The way our brain functions in the process of recovery is astonishing. Apart from neuroscience, the stories themselves give the reader an insight into past experiences and their effect on their present behaviour. They can correlate the stories to their past and can recognize the hindrances which are affecting their growth and relationships.

“No one has ever achieved great heights if they have not mastered the art of the comeback.” Dr. Chirag Jain

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