I think I’m having more than my fair share of disappointment these days. Maybe you are too. Maybe you’d like help in dealing with it.
Here’s some good guidance from April Crowe, LCSW, licensed clinical social worker at Paramount Wellness Retreat. “Disappointment is common to all, whether personally, professionally, or in social circumstances, It is something most people have to live with despite its overwhelming and demotivating nature.”
She goes on to say: “It’s not something that you should let linger and fester for too long, We don’t want disappointment to become our identity.” As a first corrective step: “By naming our disappointments, we allow ourselves to look into ourselves for the source of those feelings, which is actually how one starts to heal,”
Here are six strategies for managing disappointment:
1. Remembering Why We Took the Chance in the First Place. After a disappointment, it’s useful to set aside the outcome for a moment and recall the reasons and motivations for our efforts.
2. Acknowledging Our Feelings. We really did want the outcome, and the rejection was unpleasant. We shouldn’t dwell on the outcome, but we also shouldn’t engage in premature positivity. Accepting the emotion of disappointment, however painful, allows us to understand our disappointment more fully.
3. Evaluating Our Expectations. Were our expectations realistic? Depending on our answer, we may change our approach or our expectations.
4. Limiting Extrapolation. Having one proposal rejected doesn’t mean the next one will be.
5. Reframing the Events After a disappointing outcome, we can focus on finding a benefit. This reframing is neither denial nor bland positivism.
6. Considering Probabilities. Apply the laws of probability, the most dependable laws on Earth. The sun will come up tomorrow morning, but chances are we won’t see a rainbow.
I have given the short version of these six strategies. You will need to dive into the entire article to use the strategies. I’d love to hear how they worked for you.
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