5 tips that will help you cope with disappointment better.

We’ve all experienced disappointment in our lives. It’s fair to assume that it doesn’t feel great. It leaves us feeling sad, hurt, and even confused. To this end, disappointment might trigger you to have a negative aura about yourself. This is something you should avoid because it will lead you down to a destructive path.

If you’re feeling disappointed in something, learning how to cope with disappointment is a strategy you should implement. Being open to constructive and healthy habits will ultimately help you emerge from disappointment feeling stronger and optimistic about the future.

The following five tips will help you usurp any negative emotions you will endure from disappointment, and displace them with promising strategies. We are certain that implementing the following methods will help you flawlessly evolve.

Given your timeline, set expectations that are realistic.

Usually when someone is disappointed in their results, it’s because they didn’t give themselves enough time to achieve their goal. Achieving ambitious goals requires patience. It’s impossible to bring your desired objectives to fruition in a short period of time. Therefore, you must adjust your expectations that are a little more realistic. We all implore others to dream big, but you will also be setting yourself up to fail if you dream too big, too fast- which in return, will leave you feeling disappointed in yourself and your circumstances.

Work on prioritizing your self esteem.

Once you endure disappointment, your self esteem will depreciate. But don’t worry, it’s normal to feel that way! However, it’s unhealthy to allow your disappointment to become a huge part of your identity where you start to feel worthless. It’s important to note that failure and disappointment does not define you. Setbacks are inevitable, and you must embrace the journey. Thus, to help improve your self esteem, focus on all the positive things about yourself. Write them down, read them out loud, and be proud of how far you have come. So, instead of focusing on what hasn’t worked out, you will focus on what has. This shift in your mindset will significantly help build your self esteem.

It’s okay to not be okay.

It’s completely natural to not feel okay when something doesn’t go your way. We have an innate reaction to put up a facade and pretend we are fine when we are not. This will do a lot more harm than good. Instead, you should embrace your emotions and accept them. Don’t be afraid to feel down for a while because that shows that you care. Moreover, by confronting your emotions head on, you will heal a lot quicker. To this end, you will move forward a lot quicker, as opposed to running the risk of enduring your emotions during an unexpected moment in your life.

Learn from the experience.

You can learn something from every experience- the good, bad and the ugly. When it comes to experiences that lead to disappointment, you should always take the lesson from it. So, you should always put in a good faith effort to learn from the premise of the disappointment in order to evolve as a person.

One way you can learn from the disappointment is to ask yourself these simple questions:

How can I take more accountability in my future actions?
What could I have done differently in order to produce a different result?
What is the major lesson I can learn from this experience?
Why do I feel disappointed?

Celebrate your willingness for taking a risk.

Usually when you are disappointed it’s because you took a risk. You decided to go outside of your comfort zone and try something new. Taking the plunge to embark on an unfamiliar goal is something that should be celebrated, regardless of the end result. Considering you feel disappointed, it’s fair to assume the end result that you hoped for did not manifest itself. However, shift your mindset and commend yourself on being fearless for taking a risk. Encompassing grit and passion is something to be extremely proud of because it develops great character. Never forget this.

“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way."

– Robert Kiyosaki