We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope. Martin Luther King Jr
I achieved a few small goals this week. What a wonderful feeling to achieve any goal! It doesn’t matter if you are two or eighty-two, achieving something—anything—is just magic! When we achieve our goals—no matter how big or small—we feel like we could walk on water, but when we face disappointment, it is like sinking in quicksand.
Everyone faces challenges at various times in their lives. How you deal with disappointment will determine how you succeed in the future. The next time you face a disappointment, pay attention to how you react. Do you beat yourself up? Get mad or sulk? Blame yourself or other people? Do you immediately think you are the most unlucky person on the planet?
As flawed human beings, we are not always willing to accept disappointment. Accepting disappointment in life is a lifelong challenge. I will be disappointed. I will disappoint. You will be disappointed. You will disappoint. Life can be disappointing. It can blow you in a different direction, derail you, offer up a different path than you had planned to take, but if you surrender and ride the storm, it will pass, and other wonderful opportunities will come your way. The next time you face disappointment:
Allow yourself to feel.
Whatever you are feeling is OK. Take time to observe your emotions without judging or attempting to fix or change how you feel. It may be unpleasant but awareness will help you accept it is only a feeling.
View life through a wide-angle lens.
Try not to look at disappointment as punishment or to keep you down. Disappointment can often put things into perspective and remind us of what really matters. The initial disappointment may be a gift, or you may end up getting something much better.
Know your own heart.
Disappointment can ripple through to the core of who you are. If you don’t know what your core values are, you may not have a framework to support you when you experience negative emotions. The challenge of disappointment allows us to practice living closer to our values.
Accept things just as they are.
At the heart of change lies acceptance. As soon as you accept your reality you remove a lot of stress and will enable you to become resourceful and positive again. Disappointment is part of life, but all parts of life help us grow. Being present and aware amid negative emotions can help us become resilient to weather other storms as we learn to accept, take nothing for granted, and live life more fully.
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