Setbacks and struggles are normal parts of life we all experience.

But for some people, their repeated failures to succeed create a feeling of powerlessness.

They start saying “what’s the point, I’m just going to fail anyways.”

They start believing they have no control over their situation or the outcome.

Eventually, they stop trying altogether … and become victims of learned helplessness.

Learned helplessness occurs when someone believes they are helpless in a situation and no longer tries to change it, even when change is possible.

It’s commonly observed in victims of abuse, trauma, oppression, racism and discrimination, neglect, and prolonged social and economic disadvantage.

But learned helplessness can affect every single one of us, and sometimes our environment actively encourages it.

People in positions of power benefit from making us feel helpless.

The more helpless we feel, the easier it is to take advantage of us.

And the more the people around us feel helpless, the more likely we are to start feeling helpless too.

The worst part is, we might not even be aware it’s affecting us.

1) The Symptoms of Learned Helplessness

The symptoms of learned helplessness are numerous and severe.

People affected by learned helplessness often:

• Avoid making decisions

• Give up easily

• Avoid asking for help (even when help is readily available)

• Have a constant negative and defeatist attitude

• Feel insecure

• Procrastinate on tasks

• Display outward signs of passiveness

• Are easily frustrated

• Do not apply effort during their day-to-day activities

• Suffer from low motivation

The worst aspect of learned helplessness is that its symptoms compound on each other, making it especially difficult to break free from this oppressive condition.

The more helpless you feel, the more symptoms you experience, which makes you feel even more helpless.

And when you are constantly telling yourself you have no control over your life, it’s easy to understand why learned helplessness increases feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.

2) How To Overcome Learned Helplessness

If you are starting to notice you are experiencing learned helplessness to some extent, here’s what you can do about it.

The researchers who first discovered learned helplessness suggest the solution is learned optimism.

Training your mind to think positively over time by gathering evidence of your ability to overcome challenges in your day-to-day life.

Here’s how you can apply this practically:

Think about a skill you are really good at – any skill at all.

Maybe you can play the piano really well, or you’re a high-level athlete, or perhaps you’re a skilled engineer.

There was a point in time where asking you to do what you can easily do now, would have made you feel completely helpless.

That’s because every single person has to start from zero.

And every single person needs to fail and overcome challenges before they become good at something.

Think about it …

When we were young, instinctively we knew we were not going to be good at anything unless we learn, practice and get feedback over time.

But as we get older, we gradually forget that because society conditions us to think we are just not naturally good at things.

And the embarrassment of failure – the fear of failure – stops us from trying to succeed altogether.

That’s why it’s important to call yourself out when you start having negative thoughts that take away your power.

Because it’s very easy for learned helplessness to take hold, so be aware of when you start sabotaging yourself, and don’t let yourself get away with it.

You have plenty of evidence from your own life to prove you are capable of overcoming challenges in your way.

And on a larger societal scale, history is full of example of people who should have been “helpless” successfully fighting back and claiming power.

So there is absolutely no reason for you to give up on yourself.

Because difficult is not the same as impossible.

Here are some more practical advice for overcoming challenges while avoiding learned helplessness:

First we need to analyse the situation.

Ask yourself:

• What is the challenge you are currently facing?

• What are the strategies you have tried already that failed to get you the results you want?

• Why did those strategies fail? Figuring out the “why” is the most important part because your previous failures act as valuable feedback that will guide your future actions.

I will give you a personal example.

I was overweight in high school and my goal was to look like the heroes from my favourite TV shows, so I decided to go running everyday for 60 minutes.

After 6 months I became good at running, but I still looked the same as I did when I started.

So I started feeling helpless and complained to my dad, and he told me to think about what I did.

My goal was to look a certain way that required me to have low body fat and above average muscle mass.

And I was failing to achieve it because my training method – running every day for 60 minutes – was not the right type of training I should be doing.

It was effective at making me a better runner, but not necessarily good for reducing body fat and increasing muscle mass.

So I did some research and figured out I actually needed to do resistance training.

Then I got a couple of friends together and we went to the school gym every single morning.

I also realized I didn’t change anything about my diet, and I was still eating the same way that made me overweight in the first place. So I changed that too …

And what a “surprise”, after a year my physique was dramatically better.

If we take the time to really analyze the situation and view our previous failures as feedback, then we can create a new list of actions we can try to get us the result we want.

Keep in mind, those new actions might not work either.

That’s why we must repeat this process of trial and error, and make use the valuable feedback we collect along the way.

It’s how life is, we all have to fail and learn before we can succeed.

And the more we go through this process, the more evidence we have that we are not helpless. And the more evidence we have that we do have control over our lives.

Which further affirms that it’s always worth fighting to improve your situation.

So let go of any beliefs that take away your power.

Because you always have control over your mind, the way you think. And you are most capable when you truly believe you can win.

So use your previous successes to help you build a positive mindset – and become a resilient person who stands out from the crowd.