Disappointment is the sad, let-down feeling you get when something you hoped for or expected doesn't happen. When you study hard for a test and still get a lower grade than you wanted, that heavy feeling in your chest is disappointment. When your best friend cancels plans you'd been looking forward to all week, or when the book you were excited to read turns out to be boring, you feel disappointed.

Disappointment hits hardest when your hopes were highest. Missing out on something you barely cared about doesn't hurt much, but not making the soccer team you trained months for, or having your science fair project not work after weeks of preparation, can feel crushing.

Everyone experiences disappointment, and how you handle it varies. Some people let disappointment stop them from trying again. Others feel the disappointment fully, then figure out what to learn from it and keep going. The quarterback who throws an interception, the musician who fumbles during a recital, the inventor whose prototype fails: they all face disappointment.

You can also disappoint others when you fail to meet their expectations or let them down. Being dependable means working to avoid disappointing people who count on you, and making things right if you do.