This One Thing Will Lead to Disappointment
And you can easily stop doing it
In my life, I’ve faced plenty of disappointment.
Recently, I’ve experienced less of it.
That change has largely been due to one little mindset shift.
Why do we feel disappointed?
There’s one main thing that leads to me feeling let down.
High expectations lead to disappointment.
I experience disappointment when the following statement is true:
Expectations > reality
In real life
Imagine you are going to a party later this evening. You can’t wait to see old friends that you haven’t seen in years.
You are beyond excited to catch up with everyone.
You show up to the event.
Half of your closest friends didn’t make it. There are several people you don’t like who are there. The party feels empty and you don’t want to be there.
You are then disappointed.
Your expectations were high and the reality of the event didn’t live up to them.
A simple fix
Lower your expectations.
Be more open-minded and flexible.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t get excited about things. It’s great to get excited about things.
But it’s better to not get carried away. Don’t expect that vacation to be perfect. Don’t hope that the meal you’re cooking is going to taste like it was made at a Michelin-star restaurant and leave your dinner guests struck by its deliciousness.
When my expectations are low and reality exceeds them, I am pleased. It’s nice when things go better than we expected them to go.
Lower your expectations a bit if you want to avoid disappointment.
Accept that things are unpredictable. Go into things with an open mind. Don’t expect that things will be perfect or terrible. They’ll likely fall somewhere in the middle.
Like many things in life, it’s about finding balance.
I’m not saying that you should become a resolute pessimist who expects everything to be terrible and then is pleasantly surprised when they aren’t.
All I’m saying is that we can set ourselves up for disappointment if our expectations are too high.
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