Expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed is a popular quote that aims to control our expectations in other to help us avoid disappointment at the end of the day. Disappointment is very terrible and too demoralising.
It is the painful feeling or motion when any any of our strongly held expectations are not met. That is, you can get disappointed when you have high expectations of someone. This person may eventually fail to live up to the expectations, thereby getting you disappointed.
Disappointment has a psychological impact which leads to a long and unhealthy re-evaluation of ourselves and values. In severe cases, it can cause low self-esteem and ultimately creates depression.
According to research, the feeling of disappointment is very similar to the feeling of heartbreak. You feel despair and neglected especially if the disappointment is coming from someone you think highly of.
This is very obtainable in intimate relationships where either of the partners hold on strongly to the promises made by the other person.
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As you interact and work with people, there are high chances you’d get disappointed in them anytime. With this, you have to bring up adequate measures to help you navigate through such disappointing moments. The easiest way to achieve this is to lower your expectations. That is, expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed.
4 Ways To Avoid Disappointment
Though we’re already intrigued by the quote: “expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed,” there are still other proactive means to avoid disappointment.
1. Don’t think too much of people’s promises
Man is naturally unstable and often acts based on circumstances on ground. There’s no guarantee that the way someone behaved yesterday is still the same way they’d behave tomorrow. We’re not even sure of our next actions no to talk of other people’s actions.
This is why you have to think lowly of people’s promises to you. If you take to mind and plan with it, you’ll be shattered when the disappointment comes knocking. But, thinking lowly of these promises is natural protective barrier to prevent yourself from getting hit by the storm of disappointment that may come.
In most relationships, people suffer painful heartbreak because of how much they believe in the promises made to them by their partners. Even to the extent of neglecting reason and reality because of their emotions.
They are left entirely vulnerable and very dependent and attached to the partner. There are no other options or means of happiness aside their illusive believe in the promises of their partners to them. Eventually, when the partner fails to fulfill the promises, they feel their world is already crumbling.
It is not bad to make promises but, it could be counterproductive if you believe strongly or plan with the promises made to you by other people. You stand a great chance of getting disappointed at the end of the day.
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2. Lower your expectations about people
Aside our popular quote, “expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed,” another means to keep yourself safe from disappointment is by lowering your expectations of other people.
At a time like this, when our actions and inactions are largely dependent on prevailing circumstances, we cannot be so sure of our actions not to think of trusting other people’s actions.
Don’t think so highly of someone. Keep everything moderate and don’t disregard every sign of imperfection. If you have expectations that someone will fall in love with you because of the way they talked with you during group discussions, you might be making a very huge mistake.
This person might have talked to you calmly and respectfully because of the way they are brought up. It was just a thing of character. However, if you neglect this and begin to increase your expectations about them and possibly nurture the chances of starting something with them, you’d leave dejectedly and disappointed when they rub an emphatic NO on your face.
3. Expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed
The easiest way to avoid disappointment is to expect disappointment. You don’t have to put all your eggs in one basket, create room for disappointment and you’ll have an escape route when it comes calling.
For instance, you just started talking with your crush and things are moving fine and smoothly. You invited them to a date and you’re not sure of their coming. They might decide to disappoint you just to keep their value high. You just have to find a way to avoid this disappointment.
Though they might have promised to come for the date but don’t be too sure of their coming. Plan to attend another event or visit a friend if your crush did not eventually show up. In this way, you’ve created options and if your crush doesn’t eventually show up, you’d likely not get disappointed because you already have other places to go and other people to visit.
This is what it means to expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed. You’ve already prepared your mind to be ready for such circumstance.
4. Don’t expect much from people
Don’t expect much from your family and friends to avoid getting disappointed. A lot of people render help or assistance to friends and family with the primary aim of getting similar assistance from them in his own moments of difficulty.
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As the actions of man cannot be predicted, there’s no guarantee that the family and friends would readily help you because you helped them before.
The best practice is to extend your help and assistance to people without expecting anything in return. Don’t create a folder in your mind specifically for similar gesture from these people.
Just help them and move on. If they reciprocate your kind gestures, fine. If they fail to return the favour, fine. You have nothing to lose and you wouldn’t be disappointed.
Bottom Line
Expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed is a necessary strategy to prepare your mind for any disappointment. You won’t be held down by any disappointment and your plans would remain unhinged despite the disappointments.