Disappointment. How to handle it...

In my life, I have had some great victorious days when I felt on top of the world. I have been extremely lucky. I feel fulfilled most of the time. Recently, I have had some rather major disappointments. These are some external things over which I have no control. I personally could not have done much to change the things that are at the root cause of them. Yet, I still feel a hole in my gut from time to time about these things, and I have had to learn to cope with the disappointments.

How do you get a handle on disappointment? How can you keep it from bringing you down and causing you to plummet into the depths of sadness?

The answer is not simple, but it is important. Realization that how we handle adversities and disappointments before it leads us into despair is a critical life skill. With every situation in life, no matter what it is, you have the CHOICE and complete power to decide how you will respond to it. That is probably one of the greatest things that I have learned in my life.

With every sad, disappointing circumstance, you can either focus on the terrible parts of it or you can ask yourself how you can use the unavoidable situation to help you learn new strength that you possess and use it to propel you forward to better times.

That is simple. It is either A or B. Sadness or strength. Everyone faces this in life, no one escapes it. Knowing that it is a human experience to have sadness and disappointment makes it easier to move forward. It is when you think you are the "only one" to have ever gone through whatever experience you are having that it can seem insurmountable.

Another important factor to be aware of is that there is always help out there. If you have a certain level of self-awareness (which is, of course, very important) then you can use resources that you trust to help pull you out of the stressors or anxiety. Look for opportunities when you may not feel up to it. Sometimes you have to look for the good inside the bad. As an example: losing your job. If you lose a job, it may not seem like the ideal time to look for any opportunity as it can leave you feeling crushed and defeated emotionally. However, it is really the perfect time for reassessment. What can I do that will produce a different result? How can I learn from what I have just been through and what can I do to change? This might be the perfect time to ask for advice from a career counselor or person that you can employ as a mentor. As I said, there is always help out there for any situation, no matter how hopeless it seems. Using the strengths of family, friends, or someone you respect will help get you through any situation.

So even though I am currently feeling some disappointment, I am going to use it to help me learn from the experience and power through to the positive side of it. I am hoping that you will be able to do the same when you feel disappointed.