That Disappointing Feeling

In life, you're filled with challenges. Some will make you stronger immediately. Some will make you weaker, then in the long run build you up and prepare you for what the world holds. And, unfortunately, sometimes these challenges bring us down for good.

One of the challenges we face in life is disappointment. We can have disappointment from anything. From our parents, our significant others, our friends, or, in my case most often, from ourselves. It strikes us at any time, and tries to bring us down. There is really not much positive outlook on disappointment, because, in simple terms, it means you failed.

Failed. Just let that word sink in for a moment. You had a goal. You may or may not have prepared appropriately. You didn't succeed.

I've had many disappointing moments in my life. I've failed many times. We all do. Unfortunately, it's the only way we can shape ourselves into who we are today. We live. We learn. And somewhere inbetween those, we make countless mistakes.

What's worse than that disappointing feeling? Honestly, tell me. Not much. When you sit down and just loath in that feeling, it can be overwhelming. It can make a grown man cry.

I feel that disappointed feeling right now. I'm disappointed in myself for what I did on the court tonight. I'm disappointed in how I may have made some people feel recently. I'm disappointed in how I've let my parents down. It gets to me at times, just like it gets to you. Anyone who reads this knows what I'm talking about.

I'm not asking you to feel bad for me, because I don't deserve it. And when you're feeling bad, don't expect others to feel bad for you either. Most likely, the reason we have this disappointed feeling is of our own fault. There are things you could have done to prevent it. Prepare more. Expect less. Be smarter. Anything. If you truly take time to look at the disappointing events that have taken course in your life, the problem can most likely be traced back to you. While the end result may not have been all your fault, I almost guarantee some of it is.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't be upset when something goes wrong. You have that right. I am guilty of it; we all are. I'm just simply saying, instead of trying to blame others for mistakes, even if it was, look at what you could have done better as well. That won't clear all your problems, but it will help you figure out exactly what happened and help better yourself for future decisions.

You're going to fail in life. It's plain and simple. You're going to be disappointed, and you're going to disappoint. But you can't let the negatives of the situation prevent you from trying to build positives. Sitting and feeling bad for yourself will do you nothing. Trust me, I've done it too many times.

Go work on your flaws. You will never be perfect, but when you look back later in life, you'll be happy for trying to change. Try to make a difference. Try to look at your mistakes and not others.

And for those who have disappointed you, no matter how bad it was, I can offer a simple solution. Forgive them. They don't mean it. Some people just operate differently than you. Accept them and their weaknesses, and that may be the first step for them trying to improve what they struggle with.

I'm not good at anything I've suggested in this blog. I blame others a lot. I don't always take time to work on what I've done wrong, which is why I tend to disappoint so frequently. But there's a point in your life where you have to throw away the past and look forward to the future.

Don't let the disappointing feeling stick around. Don't let it bring you down. If it has, use it as motivation to build yourself back up. You're going to fail at something again in your life. You're going to screw up on a test. You're going to have a bad game. You're going to mess up in your relationship.

But, why would you dwell on those? Why let that disappointing feeling ruin the good you have left?

Live. Makes mistakes. But, instead of putting your bags away, unpack them and get ready to work on improving yourself.

Sorry if you didn't want me to give life lessons on this blog. I just wanted to get this off my chest, hoping for a better one after my game tomorrow. But, until then, have a good one.