It might sound crazy to the average man when told to expect disappointment and he can never really be disappointed. This quote from Spiderman’s girlfriend MJ holds a valuable lesson for us.
Being disappointed for whatever reason hurts a lot. Its effect on one’s life could result in a serious emotional distress for a very long time. It is therefore necessary for you to guard yourself against disappointment. In Spiderman’s Homecoming movie, MJ who portrayed Zendaya was spotted saying to Peter Parker that “If you expect disappointment, then you can never really get disappointed.”
There is a conditional clause there that says “if…” Meaning you can choose to expect things or not. The consequences should be handled with consent.
Today, I write to draw attention to this simple quote or philosophy from Peter’s girlfriend. I do agree with her. Surely we can pick real-life advice from it and here I am to share with you.
Since the release of Spiderman’s homecoming in 2017, fans and netizens have talked extensively about MJ’s quote because it was catchy, controversial and advisable in a special way.
“If you expect disappointment, then you can never really get disappointed.”
—Michelle ‘MJ’ Jones-Watson
There have been different variations of this quote from MJ. One of them says:
“Expect nothing and you will never be disappointed” —Anonymous
There is another variation of this quote that comes from Martin Luther King Jr. I will drop it somewhere in the middle of this post.
This is very true but can’t be applicable all the time in all facets of life. In our personal relationships with people, you may find it very helpful. But when applied to business setups, it wouldn’t auger well for its objectives.
A business wouldn’t run with the target of being hit or expect disappointment. Although the boss knows that profit and loss are part of running a business. He perfectly understands this.
Meaning Of Except Disappointment And You’ll Never Be Disappointed
This quote from MJ simply means you can’t be 100% sure of seeing your dreams, wishes and goals come to fruition as already planned. Again, it means humans and life events are unpredictable. So don’t expect it by any means necessary —so that you do not feel disappointed when things fail to go according to your plan or expectations.
Michelle Jones-Watson (MJ) And Spiderman
Things can turn around and cause a devastating effect on your life. Disappointment can break your heart and cause serious mental health issues. So in order to be on the safer side, it is good to slightly expect bad things from people. When it happens, go ahead and tell them; “hey I’m aware.”
With this kind of mindset of shutting down on expectations, you do not feel hurt when something that is supposed to happen in your favor fails.
MJ is right in this respect by saying “Expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed.” But a business owner will never expect disappointment from his production or services. The prime target is fixed and it is all positive that is geared towards maximizing profits. In rare cases the expectation of incurring loses becomes inevitable.
MJ’s quote wouldn’t auger well for businesses. However, they would agree to the fact that profit and loss are part of running a business. But it would sound insane for any business owner or worker to expect a loss in their endeavors.
Loss isn’t an expectation in running a business. It would be treated as an “unwelcomed guest.”
Life Lesson From MJ’s Quote
Movies often teach valuable lessons about life and introduce us to new and interesting quotes, vocabularies and phrases that spark our interest. And Peter Parker’s girlfriend gave us one to contemplate.
Human behavior is unpredictable, it is advisable not to trust people 100%. No one is perfect. Situations can force the most honest person you have known to tell you lies. And if the most honest person is likely to tell you lies —then why would you be too expectant?
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
It would be better to lower your expectations and look at how things go. In order not to be hurt —you must prepare yourself for the unfortunate.
Many have been brokenhearted because their expectations failed to materialize. If these people thought of living a mind-free life, they wouldn’t have been badly hurt by someone who failed to do something or show up as expected.
Again, there is a big problem with promises. A promise sounds very good. But when you fail to fulfill your promise, you automatically give someone heartache.
Someone might promise to give you a gift. Being too expectant, you place all your hope and trust in this person. What if he fails to honor his promise? Did you create enough room by expecting that awful disappointment?
You see, there is no guarantee for seeing your expectations come through. I know this is very challenging but it helps a lot in so many ways.
Personally, I have learned a lot of lessons about expectations already. And I believe I will never lose guard of my conviction of never to except anything from anyone wholeheartedly.
Sure I will take a promise with a good heart —but will never rely on it. If it happens as promised, then I would be grateful to God. And if that thing fails, I’m already moving forward so there is no need to stop and sob. There is enough room to dump that failed expectation. You can’t disrupt my plans and happiness with disappointment. I’m too positive.
Literally, I have erased expectations from my life and this has helped me a great deal. My heart is too precious for me to gamble with —because someone seems too honest, industrious, kind, etc, to bring me a promised heaven.
If you expect disappointment it means you are ready to bear the consequences when it happens so. But if you leave yourself unguarded, you would be heavily disappointed and that might be the end of your life.
I know people who were unable to withstand the mental stress caused by disappointment they never expected. Such a terrible mistake shouldn’t be allowed in your life. It’s a crazy world!
It is time to make up your mind that people do disappoint so expect it at all times. So that when it happens it doesn’t take you by surprise like a hurricane. It will destroy you and leave you with nothing.
How To Expect Disappointment To Be Safe
1. Accept The Mind Game
It’s a kind of psychological game. The first thing you should do is; allow your mind to be expectant of negative news. Oh yeah, disappointments have never been pleasant. When the news comes, you wouldn’t be surprised because you have conditioned yourself to withstand that disappointing message. When things go wrong —you can boldly tell yourself “I’m not surprised.”
2. Don’t Trust Anyone
Trust has been the major weakness of those who get disappointed. Humans are fallible creatures and so anything they promise or planned to do is not 100% reliable —because they can’t control nature and certain events.
Again, the mindset of the person you are expecting something from can change at any time. So play it safe by not trusting anyone. But receive their promises with a good heart without relying on them.
3. Live In The Moment
It would be wise, to think about what is happening around you at the moment. This is the moment you have to learn to live your best life and enjoy everything you do. Even in your best moments, something disappointing can happen. This is due to the imperfection of man and mankind’s inability to control everything.
In this case even while having the best day, except disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed when something goes wrong; You are already insulated from the hurt of disappointment.
4. Mental Strength
Practically it is hard to accept disappointment at all times. But it surely helps if one can condition himself to that mental state. It takes a strong mindset to make this possible. So you must learn to move around with a strong positive mental energy. Mentally strong people could hardly be bogged down by misfortunes. They are ever ready!
5. Show Maturity
To be someone who knows the uncertainty of life, you must be a mature person who knows that tomorrow is not promised. Anything can happen at any time so don’t be too rigid about yourself.
Give room for the unexpected so that when it strikes you would have a place to contain it; because you’ve grown enough to accept the bad side of life but never in an unprepared situation that would cause any damage to you. This shows that you are mature enough to understand how crazy life could be.
Quotes About Disappointment
I believe these disappointment quotes here will help condition you to expect it at any given time. If you prepare yourself for the unforeseen, you become safer when it happens.
1. “The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility.” —Thomas S. London
2. “Every one of us have been disappointed before and have had to go through the grieving process of anger and, you know, disappointment and then acceptance and forgiveness.” —Mathew Knowles
3. “It’s easy to get negative because you get beat down. You go through a few disappointments and it’s easy to stay in that negative frame of mind. Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is a whole cliche, but your attitude is going to determine how you’re going to live your life.” —Joel Osteen
4. “The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” —Robert Kiyosaki
5. “When you create Hope in people, you create expectations. When you do not fulfill those expectations, when the change becomes more of the same old, same old, the Hope that was created can only turn to anger, frustration and bitter disappointment.” —Vermin Supreme
In summation MJ’s quote that says “If you expect disappointment, then you can never really get disappointed” has some valuable lessons for us. You can see it right away.
Although that isn’t going to be easy. But with a strong and positive mindset, you can also make yourself ready for disappointment to overcome its detrimental effects on the mind and body.
Remember, that you are only human and can’t tailor every event or person’s behavior to your will. You are limited in this respect so expect the unfortunate so that you don’t feel badly hurt when it happens.
About Author
