Page 57 - Holistic Horizons - 5

Let’s Understand

Consider this example: You had been waiting for a toy
for months. You asked your parents to gift you that on

your birthday. When you took your new toy to your
friend’s house to show them, you somehow lost it while

playing. How do you think you would feel? Would

you be disappointed with the loss?

If you have ever participated in competitive
sports or other games, you must be aware of

how difficult losing is. Losses can come to us

in various ways, be it losing your favourite
toy or losing in a competition. Both of these

circumstances bring out a familiar feeling—
disappointment.

When we are disappointed, it takes a toll
on our mental health. When we are not

in the right mental state, we tend to get
rude and unpleasant with the people around us, and this in turn disappoints

them, too.

Why do we experience such painful feelings after a loss? If we talk about

losing our favourite item, like a new toy or an old toy that you held very
dear to yourself, losing it can surely bring not-so-good feelings within us. Or

losing in a competition that you had been preparing for, for a long time may

also not bring a great feeling to us.

Our responses might often take the form of aggression or severe anger. After
all, we are the ones that have lost something dear to us. Be it an attachment

with a toy or high expectations from ourselves in a contest, loss in any form

is something very difficult to deal with at times.

Hostile responses to disappointment are likely to result in anger towards
the person or circumstance that caused the disappointment. You could feel

yourself getting more and more resentful of that circumstance or person. So

the question is, how do we handle loss?

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