Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.
— Eliza Tabor
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Disappointments are a certain part of life. If you’re dealing with one right now, reading these disappointment quotes will help you feel better.
Whether someone you trusted let you down, something at work or in business didn’t go right, or your life just isn’t where you want it to be right now, life has a way of kicking us when we’re already down.
Disappointment may not be an easy thing to face, but is an inevitable feeling we all face.
So here are the very best quotes about disappointment, and overcoming it, to help you feel good again. Whatever brought you to this page will soon pass, and brighter days will come.
Disappointment Quotes
“Disappointment is the nurse of wisdom.” – Sir Boyle Roche
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Assuming is the root of all disappointments.” – Rogienel Reyes
“Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy – the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and expectation.” – Eric Hoffer
“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment. “ – Jim Rohn
“Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives.” – William Throsby Bridges
“Life is a long preparation for something that never happens.” – W.B. Yeats
“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.” – Eliza Tabor
“Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter could be said to remedy anything.” – Kurt Vonnegut
“Depression begins with disappointment. When disappointment festers in our soul, it leads to discouragement.” – Joyce Meyer
“Disappointment, when it involves neither shame nor loss, is as good as success; for it supplies as many images to the mind, and as many topics to the tongue.” – Samuel Johnson
“The cost of mediocrity is disappointment.” – William Arthur Ward
“But you know that disappointment is just the action of your brain readjusting itself to reality after discovering things are not the way you thought they were.” – Brad Warner
“Sometimes when you get disappointment it makes you stronger.” – David Rushida
“There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Let’s face it: None of us are ever going to get to the place in life where we have no more disappointments. We can’t expect to be sheltered from every little thing. Disappointment is a fact of life–one that must be dealt with.” – Joyce Meyer
“Suspense is worse than disappointment.” – Robert Burns
“If you’re betrayed, release disappointment at once. By that way, the bitterness has no time to take root.” – Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut
“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” – Beverly Sills
“God makes the life fertile by disappointments, as he makes the ground fertile by frosts.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“You have to learn to not let little disappointments get you down and to stay focused on the big picture.” – Gillan Tans
“Disappointments are to the soul what a thunderstorm is to the air.” – Friedrich Schiller
“When you have no expectations, you’ll never have disappointments.” – Unknown
“The sudden disappointment of a hope leaves a scar which the ultimate fulfillment of that hope never entirely removes.” – Thomas Hardy
“Disappointment is really just a term for our refusal to look on the bright side.” – Richelle E. Goodrich
“We’ve all experienced change for a moment, only to feel let down and disappointed in the end.” – Tony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within
“Evil lurks where disappointment lodges.” – George Foreman
“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” – Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper
“If you think one day you will get it all done, and then you can relax, you are bound to be disappointed.” – Christina Winsey-Rudd
“Men marry because they are tired, women, because they are curious: both are disappointed.” – Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
“Most things disappoint till you look deeper.” – Graham Greene
“If I had my way, if I was lucky enough, if I could be on the brink my entire life – that great sense of expectation and excitement without the disappointment – that would be the perfect state.” – Cate Blanchett
“Perfectionism rarely begets perfection, or satisfaction – only disappointment.” – Ryan Holiday
“I think childhood is, generally speaking, a preparation for disappointment.” – Seamus Heaney
“The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.” – Conan O’Brien
“How disappointment tracks the steps of hope.” – Letitia Elizabeth Landon
“He had the look of one who had drunk the cup of life and found a dead beetle at the bottom.” – P.G. Woodhouse
“If you put in little effort and expect big returns, you will be deeply disappointed. You don’t get apples by planting lemon seeds.” – Catherine Pulsifer
“It is better to know and be disappointed, than to not know and always wonder.” – Oscar Wilde
“Music is 10% exhilaration and 90% utter disappointment.” – John Barrow
“Hope is tomorrow’s veneer over today’s disappointment.” – Evan Esar
“Expectation is the only seed of disappointment.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
“Disappointment is a good sign of basic intelligence. It cannot be compared to anything else: it is so sharp, precise, obvious, and direct. If we can open, then we suddenly begin to see that our expectations are irrelevant compared with the reality of the situations we are facing.” – Chogyam Trungpa
“Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Life is all about setbacks. A life lived without disappointment is a life lived in a cocoon. People have recovered from far worse setbacks.” – Tony Clark
“Disappointment has quite a penchant for taking one by surprise.” – Pawan Mishra
“Disappointment is a sticky one, because no one can steal contentment, joy, gratitude, or peace – we have to give it away.” – Kristin Armstrong
“Hope is tomorrow’s veneer over today’s disappointment.” – Evan Esar
“We are often less grieved at disappointments than at ourselves for having said much concerning the certainty of our expectations.” – Norman Macdonald
“It is a bitter disappointment when you have sown benefits, to reap injuries.” – Plautus
“A pier is a disappointed bridge.” – Julian Barnes
“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” – Alexander Pope
“I guess that’s what disappointment is — a sense of loss for something you never had.” – Deb Caletti, The Nature of Jade
“People and events don’t disappoint us, our models of reality do. It is my model of reality that determines my happiness or disappointments.” – Stephan Zweig, Chess Story
“The more we shelter children from every disappointment, the more devastating future disappointments will be.” – Fred G. Gosman
“As a rule, a beautiful woman is a terrible disappointment.” – Carl Jung
“Disappointment is an endless wellspring of comedy inspiration.” – Martin Freeman
“Disappointments are a result of failed expectations. To have less disappointments, either expect less from other people or demand more from yourself.” – Kevin Ngo
Overcoming Disappointment
“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Anytime you suffer a setback or disappointment, put your head down and plow ahead.” – Les Brown
“Don’t let today’s disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow’s dreams.” – Unknown
“The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility.” – Thomas S. Monson
“Disappointment is inevitable. But to become discouraged, there’s a choice I make.” – Charles Stanley
“If I am to meet with a disappointment, the sooner I know it, the more of life I shall have to wear it off.” – Thomas Jefferson
“There’s always failure. And there’s always disappointment. And there’s always loss. But the secret is learning from the loss, and realizing that none of those holes are vacuums.” – Michael J. Fox
“One’s best success comes after their greatest disappointments.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“Enthusiasm is followed by disappointment and even depression, and then by renewed enthusiasm.” – Murray Gell-Mann
“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
“Sometimes Good Things Fall Apart So Better Things Can Fall Together.” – Marilyn Monroe
“Present, n. That part of eternity dividing the domain of disappointment from the realm of hope.” – Ambroe Pierce
“Anger is more constructive than despair.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
“Disappointment had to be postponed, hope kept alive as long as possible.” – Graham Greene
“Maturity’ really means: being very unsurprised by, and calm around, pain and disappointment.” – Alain de Botton
“What do you do when disappointment comes? When it weighs on you like a rock, you can either let it press you down until you become discouraged, even devastated, or you can use it as a stepping-stone to better things.” – Joyce Meyer
“Life is not always a celebration; so be ready to courageously face disappointments when they come, and be sure to grow stronger and wiser from them.” – Edmond Mbiaka
“See your disappointments as good fortune. One plan’s deflation is another’s inflation.” – Jean Cocteau
“One of the best protections against disappointment is to have a lot going on.” – Alain de Botton
“In the midst of my disappointment I am never defeated. Only given the opportunity to rise again willing to take on new challenges.” – Eleesha
“The simple solution for disappointment depression: Get up and get moving. Physically move. Do. Act. Get going.” – Peter McWilliams
“The best way to deal with disappointment is to acknowledge and work through the feelings it induces.” – Noaman Kaysingwala, How to Handle Disappointment In Life
“Nothing in life has happened to you. It’s happened for you. Every disappointment. Every wrong. Even every closed door has helped make you into who you are.” – Joel Osteen
“Every disappointment gives you opportunity to make another appointment.” – B. A. Fajimi
“As you work towards your goals, disappointments may slow you down, but they don’t have to keep you down.” – Catherine Pulsifer
“To courageously straighten up again after our heads have been bowed by defeat, disappointment and suffering is a supreme test of character.” – Wilferd Peterson
“Forget yesterday and last month and last year, with their gloomy diary of failures and disappointments. All that is in the past.” – Og Mandino, Og Mandino’s University of Success
“When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.” – Kristin Armstrong
“Disappointment is nothing but an eye-opening learning process for your future endeavors.” – Edmond Mbiaka
“When You Find Your Path, You Must Not Be Afraid. You Need To Have Sufficient Courage To Make Mistakes. Disappointment, Defeat, And Despair Are The Tools God Uses To Show Us The Way.” – Paulo Coelho
“A scheme of which every part promises delight, can never be successful; and general disappointment is only warded off by the defense of some little peculiar vexation.” – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
“God is the only source of hope that’ll never disappoint.” – Rick Warren
We hope you’ve been inspired by these disappointment quotes and feel ready to overcome your disappointments today. Remember, these feelings won’t last. Think positive and keep moving forward. A brighter tomorrow awaits you!
*Update: Published on March 21, 2012 and updated on May 1, 2020.
Quincy is KIM's lead editor and content writer, and has invested in online properties since 2009. Quincy holds an MBA from the University of Dundee and an MSc from the University of Edinburgh, and lives in San Antonio with his wife Natalie and his dog Oban. When not working on KIM, he enjoys traveling, poker, and anything related to crypto.
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who has been doing a little homework on this.
And he in fact ordered me dinner because I discovered
it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this
issue here on your site.
ThriLled by these quotes
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who has been doing a little homework on this.
And he in fact ordered me dinner because I discovered
it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this
issue here on your site.