Even if you are disappointed that you did not get what you expected, and even if you are upset that you do not have what you want, it is possible to lead a good life if you can let go of your expectations and find reasons to be happy with what you have.
Life happens, and it may or may not turn out as you hope it will. Learn to work with what you have. You may find that you end up liking what you get if you let go of expectations that events need to happen in a certain way.
If you are lucky enough to have loved ones in your life, call them often. Visit them often. Instead of taking them for granted, share your life with the people you care about, who care about you.
You may look insecure and vindictive if you gossip about others; this risks losing more than just the friend or friends about whom you have gossiped, as other friends realise that you can’t be trusted.
Ask yourself what talking about others says about you. Consider how you end up looking when you talk about friends behind their back; the friends you gossip to may not trust you with personal information in the future and may distance themselves from you.
Mentally or physically excuse yourself from a conversation that becomes too full of gossip, to avoid falling into gossip games or socialising-by-demoralising. Leave any conversation that stoops to the level of gossiping.
You can either make a list of what you have, or you can make a list of what you do not have. The first list will bring you peace and happiness, while the second list will bring you only sadness. Being sad and focusing on what we do not have does not change the circumstances.
If you’re hurting, give yourself the necessary space and time to hurt, and be open about it. Talk to those closest to you, and tell them the truth about how you feel. Let them listen.
Learn to love and value things when they are less than perfect. You can accept and appreciate the world as it is, and people as they are, rather than to trying to make everything and everyone conform to an impossible ideal.
Forgiveness is for you, not the person you are forgiving. More often than not, the person you are forgiving will never know you’ve forgiven them. It is a gift you need to give yourself.