It’s Okay To Be Disappointed

I have been wracking my brain trying to decide what my inaugural blog post would be for some time now. I wanted it to be meaningful, have impact, related to my website and not be overly political. I will attempt to keep my posts entertaining and informative with a little humor thrown in on occasion.

This morning I came across a post from a computer programmer who did not win an award for their work. This person was asking if it was okay that they felt hurt, angry and upset. It sounded like this was the first time that this person was ever in a competition for anything in their professional life. No real information was provided describing their actual work, if this was a special project or what the awards were for. I have no idea who this person is or even if they are male or female. Judging simply by the question they asked, I am making the assumption that they are a young adult.

It has been a long time now that schools have been teaching the philosophy “it’s all good”. I beg to differ. Not everything is good. Some things are bad or difficult and that’s okay, that is how we learn and grow. In competition, everyone gets a participation ribbon because apparently, there are no winners or losers. Children in schools are learning that self esteem is the most important lesson. That’s why young adults are now asking if it is okay for them to feel hurt, angry and upset for not winning an award.

Children, teenagers and young adults need to learn that they are not going to succeed at everything they attempt. There will be stumbling blocks and failures along the way. That is okay. That is how we learn and become successful and develop self esteem.

So, to this young computer programmer, I say you have a right to feel disappointed for not winning an award for your work. I have been there too.

Instead of feeling anger, upset or dwelling on it, learn from this experience. Winning awards in anything, whether it is sports, your career or even your hobby takes a lot of hard work and experience. If you feel comfortable doing it, ask the decision makers for some feedback on your work and use that feedback so that you can improve your performance in the future.

Remember as well that it is not about winning awards, it is about working hard and doing the best job you can. The rewards will look after themselves.

2 thoughts on “It’s Okay To Be Disappointed

    1. Thank you very much for your kind post. I have a new blog coming soon. I like to give as much attention as I can to my blogs in order to make them interesting and insightful. I hope to educate a little bit as well.

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