When we mention equations there are often a lot of raised eyebrows in the audience, however, occasionally an equation comes along that is helpful with our day-to-day life and worth taking note of:

DISAPPOINTMENT = EXPECTATIONS - REALITY

If you throw around a few variables we get an idea of how this equation works. Let’s presume that for most people the aim is to minimise disappointment. This is best achieved when we strive to minimise our expectations. If our expectations match our current reality then our disappointment score would be zero. Furthermore if our reality was actually a lot better than we were expecting then disappointment decreases its hold on our existence. The main time we get submerged in large amounts of disappointment is when we are expecting something to go one way but for some reason or another, we find that in reality, this didn’t happen.  

Now, this doesn’t mean that we should always expect the worst. It’s important to...