Sometimes we feel thwarted because our hopes, desires or expectations are not achieved.  The outcomes fall short of where you wanted them to be. 

Disappointment is all about personal perspective.  The situations that disappoint are as much about you perceiving poor results as the poor results themselves.

Optimism

Expecting the best outcome can be optimistic and not always realistic, accepting the outcome as the best might not be realistic but it will avoid disappointment.

Reaching for prefered outcomes, believing they are possible is a form of optimism; however don’t let your optimism become a driver of disappointment. 

Moving On

Disappointment can lead to disengaement and reduce your motivation to make things better.  Disappointment is real but should not be allowed to interfer with moving on.

Acknowledging disappointment even sharing it with others can be theraputic but it should focus on acceptance or planning how to resolve things to meet your expectations.

Of course lowering your expectations to match the outcomes is one way of resolving disappointment, that is not what I am suggesting.

Letting your disappointment fester like a wound is much worse, so acceptance is more about getting to a place you can live with the outcomes. 

Manage your Expectations

The core action for avoiding disappointment is to manage your expectations.  That is not to say you shouldn’t set the bar high, rather recognize how realistic your desires are and temper your expectations accordingly.

This does not mean you will never be disappointed, but instead your reaction will be positive, healthy and lead to something better.