Why Disappointment Is Good

Learning From It

Henry Ward Beecher once said, “One’s best success comes after their greatest disappointments.” When you have experienced constant disappointment and feel like everything isn’t going right in your life, Beecher’s quote can be a hard pill to swallow. But there’s something powerful we can take from it. We have all dealt with some form of disappointment. It may show up at our jobs, in our friendships, even our relationships. In our disappointment we begin to feel numb, distant, sometimes even like the world is against us. While it may be hard to believe, sometimes disappointment is good for us, even when it really hurts. Here are several key reasons why disappointment is good.

It Shows Us Where Our Focus Is

When we are disappointed in our circumstances, it can really show us where our focus is. Is your disappointment in your job, in your family life, in your relationship, in your friendships, in yourself? When you discover which areas you’re most disappointed in, you begin to see where you place the most focus. If your biggest disappointment is in your relationship or marriage, that’s because that’s where you’re placing your focus. Nothing’s wrong with being focused on the things you love. It reflects how much you care. Ask yourself what areas you’re disappointed in. Once you discover the answer(s), shift your focus from the negative to the positive.

The Hurt Is Happening For A Reason

Disappointment is defined as the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the non-fulfillment of one’s hopes and expectations. Simply put, disappointment occurs when we feel like we are not meeting the outcomes we’ve set for ourselves. While disappointment is painful, we have to understand that the hurt is happening for a reason. Disappointments are based on our own expectations for ourselves but maybe the disappointment is happening because there’s something greater we’re supposed to be pulling from the occurrence, or the time for whatever we want is not now. When we shift our focus away from “why did this happen” to “this was supposed to happen” we move out of a space of hurt into a place of empowerment.