Unless you’re DJ Khaled or T-Pain and all you do is win, chances are you’ve faced a career setback. Maybe you were passed over for a promotion, interviewed for your dream job but didn’t get hired, or even got laid off. The real question isn’t if setbacks happen—it’s what you do next.

According to Indeed.com, a lifelong learner is someone who continues to develop new skills and competencies long after formal education, nurturing a curious mind and a willingness to pursue knowledge in areas of interest.

Setbacks can be frustrating, but they’re also opportunities for growth. It’s a time to reflect on what’s working and what’s not working.

If you take the time to reflect, learn, and take action, you strengthen your growth mindset, curiosity, resiliance, and adaptability—qualities that no one, not even AI, can take away from you.

From a career perspective, it’s important to understand that top companies aren’t just focused on your experience—whether it’s building a product, selling enterprise software, or something else. Instead, they want to know who you are, what motivates you, and what you aspire to become. In the podcast Invest Like the Best, Dev Ittycheria, CEO of MongoDB, emphasized this point. He believes it’s crucial to assess a candidate’s core values, grit, ability to manage their ego, comfort with being unconventional, and capacity to delay gratification.

In addition, setbacks are not only opportunities to look inward but also to look at those around you.

In his book Give to Grow, Mo Bunnell emphasizes that focusing on relationships and helping others leads to mutual success. He suggests that by investing in others’ success, you not only help them but also create opportunities for your growth.

When you commit to continuous learning, you never truly lose. You just find new ways to win.

Another one. (My last DJ Khaled reference, I promise).