setbacks are just scenic routes

6/9/20252 min read

Welcome back to Sunday Goods!

Let’s talk about setbacks—the unexpected detours, the pivots we didn’t plan, the designs (literal or metaphorical) that didn’t quite go how we envisioned them.

This past week, I had one of those moments.

I had a specific vision for the new tote bags—every detail felt locked in, but when it came time to actually bring it to life, the design didn’t hit the way I wanted it to.

At first, I felt that gut-drop—like all the planning had gone to waste, but here’s the truth: it didn’t.

I sat with the issue, adjusted, brainstormed, and came up with a new route.

A new way to make it work—one that might actually be better than the original & that’s kind of how mental health works, too.

Setbacks aren’t failures— they’re feedback!

When something doesn’t go as planned, your brain might want to spiral: why didn’t this work? Why do I always mess things up? What now?

But pause.

This isn’t the end—it’s just redirection. Setbacks don’t mean stop - they mean reroute.

The key? Don’t let temporary discomfort convince you of permanent defeat.

How to navigate a setback:

  1. Pause before reacting: take a moment to breathe and process - you’re allowed to be disappointed but don’t stay there.

  2. Feel it without feeding it: you don’t need to suppress the frustration—but also don’t let it grow roots, acknowledge the emotion, then move forward.

  3. Ask the right questions: instead of “why me?”

    try:

    • what is this teaching me?

    • what else is possible?

    • what do I still have control over?

  4. Stay flexible, not fragile: resilience isn’t about staying rigid—it’s about being able to bend without breaking, change is constant.

    Setbacks are just training for your adaptability muscle.

  5. Create a resolution mindset: start thinking like a problem-solver, not a perfectionist, this will change your whole relationship with failure.

the bigger picture is -

Whether it’s tote bag designs, career hiccups, or personal struggles—life will keep presenting challenges.

Your job isn’t to avoid them, it’s to show up with curiosity, patience, and a little faith in yourself.

Next time life doesn’t go according to plan, remember: sometimes the universe makes edits that end up better than our original draft.

this week’s reminder:

It’s okay to rework the design, the message still matters.


love you always,


elle