Disappointment is Caused by Unmet Expectations

Tom Pumford @tompumford

Disappointment is caused by unmet expectations.  It is normal to expect things in life. If you sit in a chair, you expect that chair to hold you.  If you work all week then you expect a paycheck on Friday, or whatever day your payday falls.  There is nothing wrong with having expectations.  When you create a vision board don’t you expect those visions to become reality?  Why else would you do the board?  Why waste your time and energy on something that you don’t expect to happen?  A disappointment starts when there is an appointment.  There are four elements to an appointment:  1)people, 2)place, 3) purpose, and 4)time.  So all of these elements play a vital part in why and how we become disappointed.  First, people will let you down.  Second, this may not be the right place for what you anticipate to happen.  Third, you may have the wrong motives for this particular endeavor.  And lastly, it just might not be the right time!  So think about these elements as you put your plans into motion.

The other side of the coin is when we place unrealistic expectations on ourselves and on others. This automatically sets us up for disappointment.  Unrealistic can mean that, there is no way that it can be done, or it could mean, that based on previous experiences you know that it’s NOT going to happen.  Not to say that people and circumstances can’t surprise you, however, then it becomes a pleasant response to your expectations rather than a disappointment.  You cannot be disappointed about something that you didn’t expect to happen.  That’s just common sense.

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