How to Recover After Disappointment
This time a few weeks ago I received a completely unsolicited, surprise call from a national television station wanting to interview me for a piece on my expert subject area (consignment). They also wanted me to film, live, in Atlanta that Thursday. Talk about exhilarating. Except for the part that I had a job interview scheduled for Thursday... Enter: numerous back and forth on trying to reschedule so that I could attend. Less than 24 hours after receiving the call, I decided I was going to go for it - it was a great opportunity, so I would deal with the fall out of rescheduling other things. I was ecstatic. I planned to head to my office where I would settle down and make all my calls. Half way there, I received a call from my contact and I happily picked up the phone - only to discover that because I had taken so long to confirm, they had secured a local as their expert. Talk about crushed. I pulled over the car and my eyes immediately filled with tears. I was SO disappointed. After a few minutes, I got myself together, drove to my office, did some things and then headed to meet my husband for beers. When I saw him I promptly burst into hysterical tears again (yes, in the middle of the brewery). After a few drinks, dinner out, and some mopey feelings, I was feeling better. The next day dawned and I just got angry - yes, angry at myself for not acting sooner, but more so angry at myself for just waiting for opportunities like this hit me. It was time for world domination and taking matters into my own hands. Ironically, because I had been denied this opportunity, I brainstormed and starting working on a really fun, very cool (yet income-generating!) project that I would have never even thought of had I not been in a place of being passed over.
Here are my tips for overcoming disappointment:
- Have a good cry. You gotta get the feelings out - so cry, rant, rave, go to the gym, surround yourself with positive people. Process your feelings - they are valid.
- Look at what you did wrong. In this case, I hesitated. I wanted to say yes, but my first instinct was no, so I waffled and never made an executive decision. This cost me what could have been a very cool business opportunity.
- Figure out how you can prevent that from happening again. I vowed that from here on out, when an opportunity made me squeal with excitement (yes, this one did), then I would say YES first and figure out the details later.
- Dream up your next big idea and take charge. After I really looked at this issue, my actions, and the reason I was contacted in the first place (expert in my field!) I brainstormed up a really cool new idea that would highlight me as an expert and continue to place me on the local and national stage for this topic. I also decided that I would go out and pitch my expertise, taking things into my own hands, instead of waiting for others to approach me.
PS - Bonus tip. Live tweet the whole thing and you may end up with a free chocolate bar.