How to Navigate Disappointment

So much is not happening right now! Events that were coming soon have been released into an unknown future and some are gone forever. It’s the stuff of great disappointment.

We are collectively mourning. And that’s the way it is. For now. It will pass.

But until it does pass, here’s what we can do to navigate the pain.

We can expand our hearts to allow disappointment and grief to have a place at our table. Denying our sadness and discomfort will morph it into other feelings that may erupt in hurtful and unmanageable ways. Better to courageously feel what we feel right now. 

The goal is to feel peaceful, accepting and connected to the wisdom within. 

When I get disconnected, thrown from my seat, I remember my way back by accepting whatever it is I’m feeling. Letting the discomfort, the pain, the sorrow have enough room to exist within me. Breathing through it into my heart… a non-discrimination policy… the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful. 

Hello my heartbreak. 

Hello my joy. 

Break down the walls of separation and breathe in the present moment to love.

I invite you to gather your family (or just take a moment privately with yourself) and acknowledge your disappointments. Let them in. Name them. Don’t deny your feelings. Don’t try to fix things. 

Accepting disappointment will give it a place at the table. Making room for all our feelings joins our hearts with our minds to fully embrace life: to be wholly human. Try my FLIP the Mood© exercise to do this.

Take five or more deep breaths together. Breathe in for four, hold for two, and breathe out for five. Click here to learn about Slow Breath Practice©.

When you’re done mindfully breathing and accepting the disappointment, make a plan to move forward. What can you do as a family or individually to lift your spirits? You got this.