The Bright Side of Disappointment

Disappointment, is … well, disappointing.  There is never an easy way to go about hearing disappointing news, nor is there any great way to give disappointing news, because, inevitably, it's disheartening.  The entire reason for the disappointment is because you were hoping for the change in your life.  Maybe it was a new job, maybe it was a friend's visit, maybe it was an acceptance letter, or maybe it was the beginning of a new relationship.  The hope for these things makes you happy - excited to move forward with the day.  The idea alone makes you anxious for the moment when you receive the good news.  Receiving the opposite of the thing for which you were hoping, therefore, is discouraging.


Initially, there is almost a sense of bereavement after the first wave of numbed shock passes.  Even if you take the news with dignity, the pain lingers.  You want a sympathetic ear, maybe even a shoulder to cry on, and that's okay.  At least for a while.  Feeling the disappointment is important to moving forward.  Allowing it to consume you, however, is not.  Simmering in the pity for too long is detrimental to the next steps in your life, and the next step is? … finding your next goal.


Take the criticism you've been given and run with it.  Maybe you work harder or study more for the next audition, the next application, or the next test.  Maybe you feel the undercurrents of another passion stirring within.  Maybe this "setback" is the opportunity to push your other talents further and develop them into useable and billable talents.  Maybe this is only a "setback" because something better is waiting for your in the future, and you were meant for the second thing and not the first.  The problem is we don't know what the future holds and that can make the onset of the disappointment even more challenging.  However, these other possibilities, these other routes of success are the actual bright side.  They are the promise of success with more belief in yourself and more work and dedication.  


Remember, 
"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them."  ~ John James Ingalls.  
This disappointment is only the door to another opportunity, if you choose to recognize it.  It might not seem that way at first, but it's there.  Seize it.