Do you ever imagine the perfect scenario in your mind; then reality strikes and the outcome is nothing like you had expected? Do you ever allow yourself to get so worked up about the fact that your ideal experience totally plummeted into a reality of letdowns? Do you ever feel the pressure of disappointment just flow through each section of your body because you are entirely thrown off by what did occur rather than what you excepted would occur?

Disappointments are difficult; there is no doubt about that statement. However, you cannot give your disappointment the power to overrule all other aspects of your life. In other words, it is okay to feel saddened by the way things turned out, but do not dwell on the results for too long. By giving up your time to linger in the pool of negative feelings that result from failed dreams, you are losing sense of what is truly happening in the world around you.

Expectations are killing us.

We lose a good sense of all the commotion in the world when we are fixated on our failed expectations because our minds are focused on the fictions within us. Furthermore, we are not fulfilling our potential to live a well-rounded, involved lifestyle by wasting away the limited time we are given right here on Earth by merely antagonizing ourselves with "what could have been" fantasies.

Moreover, conjuring the negatively charged emotions that arise from focusing on failed expectations is unhealthy. Of course, regret, anger, and sadness are all human emotions and are bound to occur in life; yet, there comes a point when you must learn to feel these negative emotions and then learn how to deal with them.

Having the realization that you shouldn't beat yourself up when life throws you a totally unexpected curveball is crucial to developing a positive lifestyle. You will become more open-minded, as well as influencing people around you to follow in suit. Plus, it feels way better to be positive rather than sulking in the difficult disappointments, so why would you put yourself through the uncomfortable doom of negativity when you can simply accept the outcome?

Therefore, take some time to feel what you are going through, but as soon as you're ready, begin to loosen your grip on these high expectations. Understand that, while you have some control over what happens, there are other instances where you do not.

Thus, do not harbor in despair when things don't turn out how you would have preferred them to; instead, get creative with how you can spin the experience into a lesson to benefit your worldview and strengthen your values. While it is good to be goal-oriented and driven, expectations can quickly cause people to plummet to despair.