“We would never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world,” wrote Helen Keller.
How I wish she were wrong.
Disappointments leave us with the unpleasant task of squashing, crushing, and pinching lemons to extract any and all juice.
Here, then, are a few of my techniques to turn sour into sweet, to try my best to overcome disappointment.
1. Throw away the evidence
Albert Einstein failed his college entrance exam. Walt Disney was fired from his first media job. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Get it?
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A really nice article. I can relate to many of the pointers, such as stay in the mud, ignore the critics, be gentle,grow your roots, start over and some others. In particular, the point of being gentle towards yourself. Only be being gentle towards oneself, can one forgive and let go. Thus, one will be able to move forward with lighter load on one’s shoulder.
Very inspiring tips! One should never focus on the negative when disappointment occurs. My favorite numbers are 3, 6, 7, 11, 13, 19, 20, & 21. For the past fours years I have had to experience all of these points and more. Thank you.
“Avoid the highly educated relative who might tell you “all things happen for a reason” or that you somehow attracted this disappointment with the wrong thoughts.”
This would make sense if the words “highly educated” were removed. It is usually the badly educated person with a narcissistic personality problem that comes up with this sort of thing. Adding these descriptive adjectives here shows your prejudices against a certain kind of person who apparently makes you feel uncomfortable or small. Remove them.
Oh, good Lord !!
I just came across this article in the monthly newsletter I receive from the site, and can I say that I am most pleased that I decided to read this article? It has shed some light on certain things, particularly because disappointment/discouragement is one of the main negative emotions I always seem to experience. I like the use of quotes and metaphors used, and I’m going to make sure that I carry ALL of them with me the next time I feel disappointed, or like there is never going to be anything left/to look forward to.
I will print this out and put it on our refrigerator….my daughter is applying to competitive colleges this year…………
GREAT ARTICLE..REMEMBER TO KEEP A SMILE ON YOUR FACE…FOR IT WOULD LOOK FUNNY ANY OTHER PLACE!
Throw away the evidence! Thanks – that’s the first I ever heard that advice and it may be the key for those of us who get stuck believing that we are less than…