Disappointment Happens

I have not blogged for months now due lack of time with a busy schedule. I plan to make a valid effort to get back blogging more often. We all experience disappointment in this journey we call life. It can occur in many ways or forms but when it occurs to those that are near and dear to us it can leave a heart burning impact, in my opinion. I recently witnessed disappointment and experienced it myself which lead me to write on this subject. Those that know me quite well know that I am harder on myself than I am on anyone else. Sometimes when things do not work out how we anticipate they will or led to believe they will we get down on ourselves and on those that let us down. I have put a great deal of thought into disappointment lately. Knowing I let someone down would impact me tremendously. I cannot stand the thought of it actually. Then I see one of my kids being let down by an individual they admire and trust and it creates a fire ball of emotions within me. Yet, I know those feelings because I have experienced similar ones by being let down by individuals that I love, admire and trust.

As a leader I’ve experienced disappointment and seen it in the workplace. I would be safe in saying we have all experienced it but to me it's how we deal with it that is important. We can dwell on it and wallow in our own sadness or we can shake it off and keep going. Personally, I like to pout about it depending on the subject matter then move on but sometimes there is no time for pouting. Yes, it is true I am a pouter at times and I do not deny it. It may not always be easy to find something good in this type of situation but I feel that if we react in a positive way to the disappointment it can build personal strength for the next time it occurs. It will occur again. It is not a matter of if but a matter of when it will happen again because life is full of disappointments. Some can be diverted ahead of time while others are out of our control and hit us head on. I need to be a better example to others in how I handle disappointments. Leaders are looked up to, relied on and as parents we are in the same role but with a different audience. In order to give advice to my son, I pulled out of my own self hidden pouting mode and wore my consoling super-mom cape. One of my all-time favorite quotes from John Wooden is “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” Regardless of the let downs we experience in life it is up to us to make the best of the results. Does that mean we like the results? No, it surely does not but we can grow from it, chalk one up as a lesson learned and move forward as a stronger, smarter person.

Don’t let disappointment hold you back from living, breathing and being the person you were made to be but don’t be a dream killer for others. Be a person of your word.