When you are disappointed, it can be hurtful. Sometimes just a little. Sometimes a lot.
You can be in a bad mood for days, or even weeks.
If you can learn to handle disappointments in a more healthy and helpful manner, it will be much less painful and scary. It could even serve as a learning experience or a springboard for future personal growth.
That’s at least been my experience in the past decade.
And in this post I’d like to share 12 steps, tips and habits that I’ve learned over the years and that help me to both handle disappointment and to reduce the situations where I get disappointed in the first place.
1. You must first accept your feelings.
It hurts to be disappointed. And that’s OK.
Don’t try to push it away. And don’t try to hide it under a big smile.
I’ve found that it works better to not be swept away by such tempting impulses.
Instead, I must accept my feelings. Let everything in and feel the pain for a little while.
If I do, it will be easier to cope with what happened.
The emotions that I suppress can come back at a later date and in unexpected ways if I do not accept how I truly feel. I can become moody, negative or passive-aggressive.
2. You are…
