As a virtual assistant, the expectations you have for your business are mirror those that you have for yourself. You are your business. Therefore, when things don’t work out as you anticipate, it’s hard to take.

When there’s a breakdown in your expectations, disappointment is a normal human reaction. Disappointment floods you with anger, frustration, and sadness and can leave you feeling completely defeated.

However, as a virtual assistant, disappointment does not mean you’re defeated or that you’ve failed. Instead, it gives you an opportunity to see a new perspective and start again.

When you deal with disappointment as a virtual assistant, consider the following:

Take Time to Process

When dealing with disappointment, it’s important to give yourself time to process. Acknowledge your feelings and give yourself permission to really feel.

In a time of disappointment, don’t make rash decisions. Instead, ask yourself why you’re disappointed. Think about it. Struggle through it.

Remember that it’s not a race to just get over it. Give yourself time to feel all the emotions you’re experiencing. Then, when you’re ready to move on, you can truly let go of the disappointment and focus on achieving your goals.

Remember It’s Not Personal

You are the heart of your business; therefore, disappointment hits extremely hard. So much of you is invested in your work as a virtual assistant. When things don’t turn out as expected, it can feel very personal.

However, business is business. It’s not personal. In business, people make decisions based on what is best for the business. Decisions are not based on someone else’s feelings.

When you feel disappointed by something in your virtual assistant business, you may resort to blaming yourself. It conjures up those feelings of not being good enough and feeling like nothing ever goes your way.

However, when you blame yourself, it’s like looking through a microscope. The problem seems huge and your perspective is limited to a focused and enlarged view of the problem. This view is not a true representation of the problem or why you feel disappointed. To get a clearer perspective, you need to broaden your scope and allow yourself to see the whole picture.

Use Disappointment as an Opportunity to Self-Reflect

Because disappointment typically stems from a breakdown of our expectations, it’s an opportunity to self-reflect. Think about your expectations: Were they realistic? Were they too specific? Or not specific enough?

Rather than having expectations, set goals for your business. Establish a plan to achieve your goals. Be flexible and forgiving. Expecting that you won’t experience challenges along the way. However, when you do, you can adjust your plan to overcome those struggles.

Reflect on how you can improve yourself. Consider how you can better communicate to others. What can you do to avoid disappointment in the future?

Take time to think about everything you are grateful for. Gratitude gives you hope. Focusing your mindset on the positive reminds you that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Things will get better.

Really take the time to learn from your disappointments. By doing so, you will learn valuable information about yourself that will set you on the right path towards achieving your goals.

Take Action

Instead of stewing in the disappointment, use the knowledge you gain from self-reflection to make a plan to move forward.

Set new goals. Explore new strategies. Instead of letting your disappointment set you back, use the situation to empower you.

Allow your disappointment to provide you with new insight and a new, better path to follow.

Disappointment does not equal defeat. As you overcome your disappointment, you can evaluate your expectations and fine tune your goals. You can look through a broader lens to see a new perspective that resets your path and gets you closer to achieving your goals.

Often, to overcome disappointment, it’s helpful to learn from someone who has walked in your shoes. To learn more about how I can help you achieve your goals, apply here for a free MORE Clients MORE Profits Breakthrough Session with me now.

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