Life is unpredictable. There will always be those days where it feels like life isn’t going your way.
“Don’t let today’s disappointment cast a shadow on tomorrow’s dream” – Unknown
When things don’t go your way, you have two choices.
You can get stuck in the would’ve, could’ve should’ve trap…
Or, you could look for a learning opportunity. Not sure where to begin? Keep on reading to learn more.
Acceptance
Avoiding disappointment is inevitable. Even if you do everything by the book, your desired outcome isn’t guaranteed.
Here’s an example. Just because you didn’t get that promotion at work doesn’t mean you aren’t good at your job. Maybe your company doesn’t have the budget, or maybe now isn’t the best time.
Either way, disappointment happens to everyone and it’s completely normal.
Look at The Facts
Feelings are not facts. Just because you feel something doesn’t make it true.
When we’re emotionally invested in a situation, it can be difficult to look at it objectively. A great hack is to try looking at the situation from someone else’s point of view or by playing devil’s advocate.
Here are a few prompts that can help get you started.
1) Where is this thought coming from?
2) Do I have any proof that this thought is true?
3) Am I making any assumptions?
Change The Way You Talk To Yourself
The words we use and the stories we tell ourselves are so powerful.
When you’re having a tough day it’s so easy to blame yourself.
Even though we can’t always prevent negative thoughts from popping up, we can notice them, and change our language.
Instead of thinking to yourself “Why does this have to happen to me?” You can change the narrative to “Okay this happened, what can I do to make this right?”
“Change the way you speak about yourself and you can change your life.” – Joel Osteen
Final Thoughts
So often we can forget to give ourselves some much-needed credit. You have overcome disappointment in the past, and you can do it again.