Wednesday, December 17, 2008

dis⋅ap⋅point⋅ment

dis·ap·point·ment (-mənt)

noun

  1. a disappointing or being disappointed
  2. a person or thing that disappoints
dis·ap·point (dis′ə po̵int)

transitive verb

  1. to fail to satisfy the hopes or expectations of; leave unsatisfied
  2. to undo or frustrate (a plan, intention, etc.); balk; thwart

How do you handle disappointment?

You found the most beautiful piece of jewelry to go with your favorite outfit. You plan on buying it just as soon as you get paid, only to find out that you can't afford it due to an emergency repair to your car. Do you:
A. Plan on buying it next paycheck instead?
B. Whine and complain to your friends until they decide that they don't want to be around you?
C. Buy it anyway, even though you know you'll go into overdraft?

You're up for a promotion and you really, REALLY want it. Two days after the final interview you find out that the gal two cubicles down got it. What do you do?
A. Take a deep breath, march down there and congratulate her then start looking at other possible promotions/jobs?
B. Storm into your boss's office DEMANDING to know why SHE got the promotion over you?
C. Whine and complain to your friends until they decide that they don't want to be around you?
D. Plan to Saran Wrap her car right after you turn in your resignation?

Is disappointment healthy? Well, it certainly teaches you that you don't always get what you want... and how to cope with that situation.

There's something to be said about "people who are served lemons in life learn to make lemonade". These people seem to be happy even if their house burns down, their car gets stolen and they lose their job. You can either wallow in your disappointment or DO something about it.

These days in Little League, everybody plays no matter how badly they play. 25 years ago, you tried out for a team and if you stank, you weren't picked. Talk about disappointment!

I remember almost always being picked last for any sort of team sport... except for one. For some odd reason, I wanted to excel at that one game. I kept getting picked last until the captains noticed that I was scoring points! After a few weeks of giving it my all, I was one of the first ones picked. What a great feeling! But I never would have achieved that if I hadn't felt disappointment at first.

So, how do YOU deal with disappointment?




2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm disappointed that Evergreen didn't call it a snow day - can I call you up to complain until you dont want to talk to me any more???? LOL!

annaliese said...

disappointment usually gives me the kick in the pants that I need to try harder. I say 'usually' because sometimes I just wallow in self pity. I do agree that we need to allow our children to experience disappointment and show them how to work through it--before they become adults that feel the world owes them success.