Handling Disappointment

You’ve got your day planned.  You’re meeting with the perfect client.  The stars are lining up, there’s no doubt, this is the one you’ve been waiting for. All you need to do is show up, present the information, close the deal and watch your business explode! Sounds good right?  Of course it does, but how you react when your client cancels for the second time that week, just hours before your meeting is more important than anything else that will happen to you that day.

Disappointment is part of life and is also part of business. So what can you do to make sure that a huge disappointment doesn’t ruin the rest of your day?  Here is a list of a few ideas that I put together that I will be implementing and suggest that you do as well.

1. Have a “back up” plan. The only thing that is certain in business and in life is that there are no certainties.  So if you take the time to plan ahead by making a list of what I’ll call “if this, then that’s”, you will always have something else to do and focus your efforts on.  Taking action on your “if this, then that” list will assure that your day won’t be ruined by something unexpected.
2. Stay on an even keel.  This was the advice that my high school baseball coach used to give us over and over again. Staying on an even keel means to not let your emotions get to high or to low.  In my line of work it means to not get too excited or disappointed by a potential business partner whether they have already joined your business or not.  One of my favorite quotes to remind me of this is as follows…”A person’s actions will tell you everything that you need to know”
3. Fix your head. When the “perfect” client cancels or a the “perfect” business partner disappears, its easy to allow ourselves to get fixated on THEIR reasons why.  The problem with doing this is that you will never truly know the answer. You may think it is because they don’t like you, they aren’t interested in your products, that your company isn’t good enough or one of several hundred other reasons but the truth is you will never know.  It may be one of those reasons or it may be something completely unrelated that you have no control over.  My suggestion is that you control the only person that you can, yourself.  You can do this by changing your focus and giving gratitude.  Giving gratitude, for what I do have VS what I do not have, always puts my “head” back to a place where I can be productive.  I started this practice several months back and it NEVER fails.  Simply take 10 minutes  and write down a list of things that you are grateful for. This list can contain everything from having clean water and a toothbrush to being grateful for the good relationships in your life and business.

Finding a way to handle disappointment and rejection will make all the difference between living a life of mediocrity and defeating mediocrity.  As always, if you would like to share some of the ways that you handle disappointment, please add your comments below.

Have a great day!

Kevin