12 Ways to Dance with Disappointment
12 ways to dance with disappointment:
#1. Be a scientist.
Trying things is an experiment to discover what works. Don’t be disappointed. Learn what to not do.
#2. Accept history.
Come to grips with reality. History says something will go wrong soon. The good you did yesterday doesn’t insulate you from unexpected problems today.
#3. See yourself.
Reconnect with passion. Allow disappointment to clarify what’s in your heart. What contribution do you want to make? Challenges and frustrations are windows of contribution.
#4. Own it.
Disappointment means you care.
#5. Refocus on mission.
Find a reason that makes it worthwhile to work through disappointment. Evaluate your mission when you constantly think it’s not worth it. Facing difficulty is worth it when you have a meaningful mission.
Develop a personal mission statement.
#6. Avoid.
Avoid behaviors that contribute to disappointment. Procrastinating. Avoiding tough conversations. Using ambiguous language.
#7. Simplify.
Ask, “What’s the simplest thing I can do to improve this situation?”
#8. Refocus.
Think more about giving than getting. How can you contribute to success right now?
#9. Humble yourself.
Arrogance says, “I don’t deserve this.” You might not deserve the setbacks you’re facing. Accept them and move forward.
#10. De-personalize.
Reaffirm potential. You aren’t the mistakes you make. You made progress in the past. With work, you’ll make progress again.
#11. Make a friend.
Disappointment says build walls. Don’t listen. Connect with someone who is passionate to grow into the future. The wrong friends are deadly.
#12. Adjust expectations.
Feeling let down after pouring yourself into something is normal. Take a breather. You aren’t a super-hero.
Bonus: Reject sideline critics.
Some critics are committed to make things better. Toxic critics spray poison from the sidelines.
Never let toxic critics distract you from noble goals.
Which suggestion listed above seems most useful to you?
What can you add to the above list?
How to Keep Going When Hope Turns to Disappointment
How to Live Up to Your Aspiration
Dealing with disappointment: some strategies to make lemonade out of lemons
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Everything changes when we change the way we think about ourselves.
Refocus on Mission is the most useful suggestion to me. Healthcare is mission driven. Frustrations and disappointments are easier to handle when I remind myself of why I do what I do. Thanks so much for the great reminders in this post.
Thanks for jumping in today, Rosemarie. You picked something that would help lots of us.
I felt a need to clarify mission when this one came to mind. What value do we want to bring to the world. It’s strange how that can get lost.
Both 9 and 10 land with me.
I hear you, Joe. We feel like we are the mistakes we make. Perhaps #9 and #10 go together. I little humility helps us embrace our own imperfections.
Beautiful. I’m going to print this and keep it where I can review it as needed (which is pretty often). I love the bucket analogy and will now embrace rusty buckets!
Thanks, Bonnie. For some reason we carry painful experiences but our successes can wash off our backs like water on a duck. It takes attention and intention to lessen that tendency some of us have. Best wishes.
I always like #7.
Disappointment is the gap between expectations (of yourself and others) and what happened. Determine what changes are needed?
1. Change expectations of yourself or others
2. Learn from the experience and make personal changes.
3. Provide feedback to others. Request specific changes.
Thanks, Paul. I’m glad you brought up expectations. Set your expectations high enough and you’re bound to come up disappointed. Of course, set them too low and you end up bored and unfulfilled.