Was that disappointment just a sign that you need to pivot ?
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you could feel it in your bones?
You pictured it. Prayed for it. Planned for it. Told yourself that once it happened, everything would finally click into place. You convinced yourself that was the opportunity, that was the relationship, that was the job, that was the version of life that would make all the waiting make sense.
And then… it didn’t happen. Maybe the door closed. Maybe you got passed over. Maybe someone chose someone else. Maybe it fell apart at the last minute. Maybe life simply said “not this.”
And if you’re being honest, it felt like such a letdown.
Not just disappointment…. but deep disappointment. The kind that makes you question yourself. The kind that stings your confidence. The kind that has you replaying everything, wondering what you could have done differently.
I think most people know that feeling.
We live in a world where we’re taught to chase, strive, hustle, and hold tightly to the things we want. We’re told persistence is everything. And while there is value in dedication, sometimes we grip so tightly to one specific outcome that we miss a bigger truth:
Not everything we want is meant for us. That can be hard to accept in the moment. Because when we want something badly, we often build a story around it. We imagine how it will feel, what it will solve, who it will make us become. We attach meaning to the thing before it even belongs to us.
So when it doesn’t happen, it can feel like we lost more than an opportunity. It feels like we lost the future we created in our mind. But time has a funny way of revealing things.
Eventually, distance gives perspective.
You look back months later….or even years later, and realize that what you thought was a dream would have drained you. That relationship would have limited you. That job would have underpaid you and overworked you. That friendship was one-sided. That opportunity would have kept you small. That path would have taken you farther away from yourself.
What once felt like rejection starts to look a lot like protection.
What once felt like failure starts to look like guidance.
What once felt like a dead end starts to look like divine rerouting.
I think some of the best things in life come after the plans that didn’t work out. After the heartbreak that made you stronger. After the missed chance that forced you to create your own. After the closed door that pushed you to stop waiting for permission. After the season where nothing made sense.
There are moments in life where you don’t need another open door, you need the wrong door to stay shut.
And that truth can be difficult to appreciate while you’re standing in disappointment.
I know people who now thank the things that once broke their hearts. They thank the people who left. The jobs they didn’t get. The moves they didn’t make. The plans that collapsed.
Why?
Because those disappointments introduced them to themselves.... allowed them to meet a version of themselves that they would never have met.
They became more resilient. More discerning. More grounded. More clear on what they truly needed,not just what looked good from the outside.
Sometimes we chase things because we think they will validate us.
Sometimes we want something because everyone else seems to want it.
Sometimes we’re attached to the idea of something, not the reality of it.
And sometimes life, in all its wisdom, steps in and says: No. There is better for you. There is truer for you. There is more aligned for you.
We just don’t recognize it yet. That’s the hard part about redirection, it rarely feels graceful while it’s happening. It often feels confusing. It can feel humiliating. It can feel unfair. It can feel like standing still while everyone else moves ahead.
But so many times, what feels like standing still is actually preparation. You’re being stretched. Refined. Built. Moved inward so you can later move forward with clarity.
I’ve learned that not getting what you want immediately does not always mean loss. Sometimes it means pause. Sometimes it means growth first. Sometimes it means not this version. Sometimes it means raise your standards. Sometimes it means wait until you’re ready for something healthier.
And sometimes it simply means there is something better coming that you cannot yet see.
So if you’re carrying disappointment today, I want to remind you of this:
You are allowed to grieve what didn’t happen.
You are allowed to feel sad, frustrated, confused, and human.
But don’t build a permanent home in temporary disappointment.
Give life time to reveal why it unfolded the way it did.
One day, what hurt you may make perfect sense.
One day, the thing you begged for may become the thing you’re grateful never happened.
One day, you may look around at the life you have and realize none of it would exist if the old plan had worked.
That is the magic of redirection.
It doesn’t always arrive wrapped in excitement.
Sometimes it arrives dressed as loss.
So keep going.
Trust what is leaving.
Trust what is delayed.
Trust what is unfolding behind the scenes.
And trust that sometimes the greatest blessings in life begin as the greatest letdowns.
XO,
Marilyn
