Even though disappointments are an inevitable part of life, they’re never easy to deal with. As a work at home professional, you’ll likely deal with your fair share of disappointments. A lucrative deal could fall through, a loyal client might move on, or it may take longer than expected to grow your business.

I’m no stranger to disappointment. Fortunately, it’s not a regular occurrence. Yet, I’ve dealt with two or three hard hits. You know, the kind of disappointment that takes away your will to work. I was a freelance finance writer for a mortgage website, and for six months I created articles on every imaginable personal finance topic - with no problems. Then all of a sudden, the company pulled a disappearing act. They stopped responding to e-mails, and didn’t pay me for the final assignment, which would had been a month’s salary. Disappointment doesn’t describe how I felt….which was angry.

Next, there was the situation with About.com. I don’t even want to get into that. But, if you’ve ever completed their 17-day guide prep course and didn’t make the cut - then you can empathize. Missing out on that opportunity took disappointment to a whole new level.

It’s easy to sit back and feel sorry for ourselves. But, the best way to handle disappointment is to shake negative thoughts and take control of the situation.

1. Stop Whining: It’s normal and healthy to grieve after a major disappointment. It’s not healthy to dwell on the situation for several weeks of months. Eventually, you’ve got to let it go.

2. Develop a New Plan: So, your original plan didn’t pan out - that’s okay. You can still achieve all your goals. Too often, new telecommuters start a home based business, the business tanks, and they give up. Who ever said running a home business was easy? You’ll run into obstacles, financial ups and down, and disappointments. Sometimes, you’ll have to formulate two or three different plans until you find one that works.

3. Opportunity Knocks: Believe it or not, but some good can come from disappointment. For all you know, you might not be a good match for a particular opportunity; or perhaps the opportunity would have monopolized all your time. Disappointments are almost always temporary. Keeping looking….and you shall find.

Technorati Tags: work at home, home based, telecommute, deal with disappointment, freelance writer, freelance, self-employed