Motivation Monday: How Do You Handle Disappointment?

Happy Monday, dear readers! How was your weekend? And happy February to you! January felt like a long month, but here we are at a new month! Do you have any short-term goals for this month?

Snow-covered tree from my walk yesterday

Moving Forward from Disappointment

I was interested in writing today's Motivation Monday about moving past disappointment because I had a number of frustrations with work last week. In the moment, I felt very distraught, and when combined with some hormonal things, I lost quite a bit of time to feeling sorry for myself. As I've gotten a little older, and as I spend more time in the professional world, I do get better at getting over those disappointments. But there are certainly times when I forget what I've learned! So this post is to share what I've learned, and to remind myself of the things I have learned--so that when I have a particularly frustrating day, I don't lose control of my feelings.

"In three words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on. 
In all the confusions of today, with all our troubles . . . with politicians and people 

slinging the word fear around, all of us become discouraged . . . tempted to 

say this is the end, the finish. But life — it goes on. It always has. 

It always will. Don’t forget that." --Robert Frost

Remember that life goes on. I've seen this quote attributed to Robert Frost, and I tried to verify. But it also seems to be a bit of a commonly said thing: life goes on. I think it's important to remember. You've survived every difficulty that you've faced until this point; odds are, if this difficulty is anything within the normal realm, you'll survive this one too. The world will keep spinning. Other people will live their lives. And even if you feel shattered by a frustration, one day you will wake up and that disappointment will not be the first thing to cross your mind.

"If you can't fly, then run, if you can't run, then walk, 

if you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, 

you have to keep moving forward." --MLK

Keep moving on. I like this quote by MLK to emphasize that even tiny, tiny steps can help you distance yourself from frustration. What's the tiniest next step you can take to move past the situation? For a work frustration, I try to make a little progress on a separate file. See if I can get a little win there. For a personal disappointment, or heartbreak, maybe the next step is something to keep you alive: eat something for dinner; drink some water; go to sleep; and wake up the next day. Even if you cannot instantly move on, you can take one tiny step.

"When one door closes, another one opens; 

but we often look so long and so regretfully upon 

the closed door that we do not see the one 

which has opened for us." --Alexander Graham Bell

Look for the newly-revealed opportunity. I like imagining Alexander Graham Bell saying this: he must have faced countless disappointments in his work to invent the telephone. He must have seen countless doors close before he noticed the one that allowed him to make that astonishing discovery to alter the course of history. Have you ever had the presence of mind when faced with a frustration to see the other path forward that just opened for you? I cannot think of a specific example for myself where in the moment, I saw another path than the one I had initially hoped for. But with hindsight, I can see my whole life leading to this point guided in part by some opportunities not working out. Where, at the time, I was sad or disappointed, I look at my life now and love it! 

How about you? Are there any ways that you move past disappointment? Is it easier to think about in hindsight?

Today's Delights:

• This was a good TV weekend! My husband and I watched another episode of Lupin on Netflix. We're really enjoying it! I think it only has five episodes, and we don't want it to end! Also, I watched another episode of the Mandalorian this weekend. I have finished Season 1 and have now watched the first episode of Season 2. It's a fun show, and I'm glad I gave it a try. 
• My current audiobook is just awesome. It's been such a fun thing to accompany me on my walks!
• Yesterday evening, we booked a trip to a BNB in a rural area. We received a gift card to this BNB from my aunt and uncle for our wedding. We are really looking forward to the trip! Also, we booked a take-and-bake dinner for Valentine's Day, so we're excited for that too!

Find something to delight in. Love, A