Disappointment and Transition

Everyone has been disappointed at some time or another in their life. Live long enough and “it” will show up. Have you ever considered that disappointment could actually be a gift? When embracing transition, change or shifting, there are opportunities that come by embracing those disappointments and actually looking at them long enough to see them for what they could be for your growth.

As an IT contractor, I am always in transition. Sometimes the projects I work on simply take a shift in another direction or there is always some disappointment when a project is over but usually the major disappointment s come while looking for the next project.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been runner up or as they say in racing “first looser”. But am I really loosing? I would contend that the disappointment of not getting the opportunity many times outweighs winning. For example, in my business we are always selling our services to clients. Sometimes you will spend a lot of money, time and invest emotionally to win the business. Many times (more often than not, think like a batter in baseball) those opportunities do not materialize. I am left feeling empty and spent. Often in those setbacks; opportunities arise that are better than the opportunity I was pursuing.

When I was younger, I would feel like it was a personal attack on me when I was not chosen. I have come to learn that disappointments and how I view them are certainly a reflection of who I am at the time. Being rejected is never easy, but now I understand it is not completely about me. It is also about the company’s situation or the individual making the decision. The shift for me is seeing the disappointment in a whole new way. I now utilize my disappointments as a way to examine what is going on inside my heart to be more aware of my attitudes and beliefs. Disappointments stretch me and allow me to change and to see something I would never get to see had it not showed up and I had not seized the opportunity to embrace the gift.

I encourage you to join me in embracing your disappointments and allow them to transform you into a different person.