Have you ever done everything you can to “make someone happy” and it seemed it was never enough? Have you ever done something with good intentions, only to later find out that it wasn’t as kind or helpful as you’d intended?

Have you ever felt blindsided by someone’s insistence that they’re doing something to “make you happy” because you didn’t find the gesture itself to be conducive to your happiness (ie you didn’t want or care for them to do that thing)?

It’s totally human to do sweet things for and give sweet treats to the people who we love. It’s understandable to want to surprise our loved ones with our efforts. You want to make them happy, so you do these little acts in the hopes it’ll make them happy.

It’s completely normal to want to comfort somebody when they’re distraught. And it’s understandable to impulsively say “yes” if somebody is making a demand or request while distraught. You want to make them feel better, and so you say “yes” hoping to make them feel better.

I’m here to remind you that “feel better” is relative.

It’s impossible for any one of us to be happy, satisfied, and get what we want 100% of the time. Disappointment is part of the human condition. It’s a natural human experience. In other words, from the moment we are born, it is inevitable that we will experience disappointment several times—AND, the possibility that we may soon be disappointed will not end until we die.

On the other side of that coin, we are always capable of disappointing others. We will also be disappointing other people until we die. No amount of anticipation, mind guessing, or good intentions will ever stop any one of us from disappointing someone who we care about. We are as destined to disappoint somebody else as we are to experience disappointment.

Thus, it’s not necessary for any one of us to evade disappointment. In fact, it’s futile. We are going to be disappointed and we are going to disappoint others whether we like it or not. So there is no need to avoid disappointment. Instead, I think it’s better for us to prepare for disappointment.

How do you prepare to be disappointed? How do you prepare to disappoint others? Share your tips and tricks!