As much as we don't like to experience any form of disappointment in life, it's sadly an inevitable part of every human journey, and there are times when we just can't do anything to prevent it. This feeling pops up when expectations aren't met, probably a promise wasn't fulfilled, or when we fail to achieve a goal.
Disappointment can be very dangerous and influential because it's capable of clearing the path for several negative feelings, such as depression, frustration, and others, into one's life if care is not taken. The immediate impact isn't always good, but that feeling can be channeled into achieving something great in the long run.
Growing up, I had a tough time dealing with disappointment, and it almost changed the way I saw people. I always wondered why people would promise willingly and not fulfill it, I ask myself if they don't know the implications of disappointing someone who has no other means.
There was a particular time when my church held a program for teenagers, and I had lots of activities lined up for me that day. We sewed a matching outfit, and my mom purchased it for her kids. We had a tailor who sewed for the entire family, but his designs weren't always in vogue, so I set out to find someone else.
I met this man and after discussing, I gave him my material, and he promised to do the needful. To cut the story short, I didn't get my clothes from the tailor, and it was a pure disaster. I couldn't participate in so many things which I found it very annoying.
Some of those experiences didn't get to me much, probably because their impact on me wasn't massive. It's always easy for me to forget everything that happened within a few days, but there are those that are capable of making you frustrated anytime you remember what happened. Experiences like that must have cost us something huge, and it's hard to let the memories go.
A time came in life when I started praying against disappointment just because of one person who was fond of making promises but ended up not doing anything about them. It would have been different if the person always showed a bit of remorse afterward—at least, I can convince myself to believe that he didn't disappoint me intentionally, probably something came up and he couldn't come through for me.
But that's wasn't the case. He always cut connection with me after pulling his stunt, which broke me down, but there was nothing I could do about it. My experience with this person was so terrible because I was stuck with him for a while since I had no one to seek help from, even when I said enough is enough.
Due to the series of disappointments I got from this one person, my life got messed up even as a teenager. I faced numerous humiliations, and it made me depressed. I went around with a heavy heart and was trapped with the feeling of disappointment for some time.
But as years passed, I saw the need to channel my frustration into strength. I told myself that brooding over a past I can't change is a complete waste of time and I had to take charge of my life. It wasn't an easy process trashing those memories, but I did, and my life took a different turn. I started doing everything possible to fend for myself, and it rendered being disappointed useless over me. It's not like I still don't feel down, but it's always a quick thing to get over.
All these experiences open my eyes to the importance of not disappointing people. Even at that, it would be a lie if I claimed to be perfect on this because I have disappointed people unintentionally. I prefer to immediately render whatever help I can do to anyone in need rather than promising, because life can be very unpredictable. I might have the intentions to help, but the power to o so won't be there.
It necessarily doesn't have to be about promise and fail; there are times I feel disappointed in myself for not achieving something, and instead of holding grudges with myself, I would rather forgive myself and move on.
Like many Nigerians will say that some disappointment might even be a blessing in disguise, so regardless of how we feel when disappointed, the right thing to do is move on. Instead of feeling depressed, you can try to draw positive inspiration from the incident. Being disappointed is literally not the end of the world, and we just have to do what's for ourselves.
The Cleanplanet prompt is open to everyone and HERE is link to the post for those who are interested.
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