It’s not a setback, it’s just your soap opera!
- What’s your favourite soap opera or TV series?
- What have been some of the setbacks you’ve had over recent years?
It’s probably fair to say that most, if not all of us, at some point or other, have hooked been on some soap opera, TV series or another. In Ireland, in the 70s and 80s, we had The Riordans, Glenroe and of course, Dallas from the US. Nowadays, there is such a wide range of choice, but The Sopranos will always be a classic for me.
It’s also fair to say that we’ve all experienced setbacks at some point or other in our lives or at least moments that felt like setbacks.
However, a few questions to consider!
- But how do you know that a setback really is a setback?
- How do you know to reach that conclusion?
- How can you call something a setback unless you know for sure that it’s not going to bring you somewhere unexpected somehow, at some point down the line?
It can FEEL like a setback at that moment in time, just like as if you’re in your own worst-case scenario soap opera episode. However, the nature of soap operas means that there is always something waiting to happen next, always some twist in the plot, always something unexpected ready to unfold and to keep you on the edge of your seat.
So, you can never fully interpret what is happening in the present. You can only completely understand what is happening in the present from the perspective of the future looking back, depending on how things have unfolded over time.
So, whenever you feel as if you’re in your worst-case scenario soap opera episode, ask yourself the following questions.
- What’s waiting for you to happen next?
- What are you waiting for to have happen next?
- What would the plot look like if you could write the script exactly the way you’d want to?
Séamus