Deaing with disappointment

So Saturday I was all geared up for a great event.  The event I was participating in was market to my target.  We had constant rain all day and so the event had less than 10 people for the entire 3 hours.  I was so disappointed.  I had such high hopes for this event to help jump start my business.

So things didn't go as planned.  What now?  Luckily for me I didn't put all my eggs in one basket and I am not now scrambling for another way to gain customers.  I already had things in the works and I can put my energy into the next event.  I do have a few leads to follow up with, but two of them teach at the same school so its really only one lead.

This week I have planned an open house, a new networking group and another vendor event.  I am hopeful that each event that I do brings me one step closer to that one person who will help me get my calendar filled.  It just takes one person to book a play date that books three more who then book three more etc.  Even when I find that one person, it is best to continue to look for different avenues for customers and team members.  Even the best string dries out eventually and will need to be replaced.

It is so easy to focus on what didn't happen the way that you wanted.  Disappointment can lead to discouragement which often leads to the desire to quit.  We have all been there.  We have all seen the picture of two men mining for diamonds.  The first one quits just before he would have hit the mother lode and the next one comes in enthusiastically behind showing no signs of letting up.  He will hit what the other missed.  We never know when our ultimate success is just around the next corner.

In order to overcome the disappointment then we must focus on new activity.  Yes we can take a moment and acknowledge our chagrin that things didn't go the way we wanted, but then instead of dwelling on it, we need to move on and get back to work.

Disappointments are inevitable, but they don't need to lead to failure.  Yes we may need to take a step back and regroup, but that doesn't have to mean we are finished.  Retreat allows us to reevaluate, change what we need to, and fight another day.