Part of going through life is facing occasional disappointment. Disappointment can stem from many different triggers. From minimal things such as your restaurant being out of its favorite appetizer. To major things such as getting over a rough heartbreak. Whatever triggers the disappointment, the strong emotion associated with it can often be the same across the board. The next time you are faced with disappointment, and need help figuring out how to deal with disappointment, use these tips and tricks. Today, to help you understand how to manage and cope through your disappointment, we have covered all the bases about everything you need to know.
Let Yourself Feel The Disappointment
When we are caught off guard and our emotions get the best of us in the form of disappointment. When this happens, it is far too easy to react. When you react however, you want to make sure you do so in a way that is progressive. One of the most common mistakes when people are faced with disappointment is the fact that they don’t let themselves feel it.
Step one of figuring out how to deal with disappointment is allowing yourself to feel the pain. Far too often people bury the disappointment down and do not own up to it. You will never be able to accept or get over whatever has triggered you if you do not face the disappointment head on. Like any emotion, the healthiest thing to do is to accept that it is a part of life and allow yourself to feel it. No matter how difficult feeling the disappointment may be. Here is a pro tip: One of the best ways to feel dissapointment is by cuddling up with a good book or binge eating your favorite show on Netflix to help distract your mind.
Do Not Take It Personally
When you are disappointed because of the actions of others or the expectations that you have set, then it is far too easy to take it personally. The next step in figuring out how to deal with disappointment is accepting that the disappointment may be beyond you. Taking disappointment personally went only enhance your negative feelings about yourself. Thoughts like I could’ve done better, it was my fault, I shouldn’t have done that, can make it harder for you to overcome the disappointment. Instead of taking the disappointment personally, try to gain a different perspective.
Reevaluate Your Expectations
One way of figuring out how to deal with disappointment is reevaluating your expectations. Often times we may become disappointed because our expectations were unrealistic to begin with. If you are disappointed at an event in your life, step back and try to figure out why.
Where the expectations you have set too high? Where the expectations that you had realistic? Whenever you set expectations you want to make sure that they are reasonable and attainable. If not, disappointment can be be much more likely. A major thing you should always do when you are trying to understand how to deal with disappointment is taking a step back. Once you do this, you an assess whether or not your expectations were realistic.
Learn From Your Disappointment
If you were disappointed at the culminating results of something that you had planned then make that disappointment worthwhile. Start at the beginning of the event that disappointed you and ask yourself how the disappointment happened. Once you have walked through the steps reevaluate and figure out what you could’ve done differently. While disappointments are an expectation of life, managing them is something that is totally up to you. When you learn from a disappointment then you will be able to prevent yourself (hopefully) from having to go through that hardship again. If you are trying to figure out how to deal with disappointment one of the best things you can do for yourself is learn from it.
Find A Positive
In any disappointing situation, there is always a positive. One of the best ways of how to deal with disappointment is finding the positive and holding onto it. One of the ways that intelligent people learn from their disappointment is analyzing the disappointment so that they can draw out the positives. Focusing on the negative will only enhance the disappointment. Not only that, but when you only focus on the negatives, you disable yourself from growing as an individual. When you are able to begin finding positives in your disappointments only then will you begin to start mastering your emotions and how to deal with disappointment.
Put Things Into Perspective
A lot of times, when we encounter disappointment it may feel like the end of the world. One of the best ways of how to deal with disappointment is putting your frustration in perspective. Often times the disappointment that you experience may be overdrawn or over exaggerated in your head. Try taking a step back and seeing your situation from an outsider’s point of view. Some questions to ask yourself include:
- Is your source of disappointment really the worst thing in the world?
- Will you be able to get through this or are you actually really stuck?
- Will you be able to overcome this disappointment or will you need additional support?
- Was there a positive outcome even if it was the slightest because of your disappointment?
Putting your disappointment into perspective will help you gain a different understanding of why you were disappointed in the first place. Not only that, but it will help you understand if you really should have a reason to be disappointed.
You Rise To The Company You Keep
Just like the emotion of happiness, disappointment can be contagious. One of the best ways of how to deal with disappointment is by preventing as best you can in the first place. When you keep close a group of friends or family who are constantly disappointed or who constantly see the negative side of things, then you are setting yourself up for disaster. Pessimistic people who never try to change their reality will always be disappointed. If these are the people you keep around for company, then you will eventually mold yourself into a similar frame of thinking. Avoid unnecessary disappointment by distancing yourself from emotionally draining people like this.
Talk It Out With A Close Friend Or Family Member
When you are disappointed it is easy to want to seclude yourself from the world. One of the best ways of how to deal with disappointment is expressing the way you feel. When you talk about your frustrations out loud then you often get a chance to see your situation from a different perspective. Find a good friend or loved one that you can vent your frustrations to.
Not only will talking about your disappointment give you the opportunity to vent and feel better but you can learn from it too. A trusted friend or loved one can give you a new perspective by offering their advice on your situation. Not only that, but spending productive time with your family can’t help change your frame of thinking so you are not disappointed.
Accept Disappointment As A Reality Of Life
If you do not feel the lows in life, then you will not be able to appreciate the highs. One of the major ways of dealing with disappointment is understanding the fact that disappointment will exist. From your place of work to your household family, disappointment is something you are going to encounter. Instead of trying to avoid or relinquish it accept the fact that it is there. And when you do find yourself getting disappointed, hang onto the fact that you can get through it. Not only that, but you can get through it stronger than you were before.
Final Thoughts
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that you will encounter disappointment. This goes for both major and minor disappointments. Although everybody will have their fair share of disappointments in life, what matters is the way you react to it. Instead of succumbing to the disappointment and regressing, find a way to make the opposite happened. After all, part of life is figuring out how to grow as an individual. Experiencing disappointment is one of the best ways for you to do this.