Counter Seat

How disappointment can teach us about what matters most.

This weeks Brain Waves are a short reflection on excitement- so often I see people wanting to be joyful about something, but stopping themselves from becoming too excited out of fear of the disappointment that might follow.

They hold back, prepare for the worst, and soften their joy before it has a chance to fully be present. With so much in life there is an opposite. Up and down. Pain and pleasure. Joy and grief. Excitement and disappointment. Naturally, we spend so much of our lives trying to avoid the downs, the pain, the disappointment. It makes sense. They are uncomfortable. They ask something of us.

But the truth is, they will come.

No amount of preparing, worrying, or holding ourselves back will prevent disappointment from finding us. It is simply part of caring. So perhaps the question isn’t, How do I avoid disappointment? Perhaps the question is, How do I face disappointment when it arrives?

Then, how do I rebuild? How do I trust that I have survived difficult seasons before and will do so again?

Life has taught me that it is rarely about the fall. It is about how we choose to stand back up. It is rarely about failing. It is about finding the courage to try again. And maybe disappointment isn’t the enemy we believe it to be. Maybe it is evidence that we were thrilled about something.