And anyway, once you allowed yourself to picture such a scenario, it couldn't happen. That was just the way life went.

~ J. Courtney Sullivan

J. Courtney Sullivan Acceptance Disappointment Dreams Expectations Imagination Let Down Life

What is much harder to handle is the sense that you have to live up to the mark someone else has set for you. The grades become too important, the competition too frantic, the fear of disappointing those who believe in you turns into an overwhelming nightmare. And it is desperately unfair to the boy. He cannot live his parents' life over again for them. He cannot make up for their own lacks, their own unfulfillments. He cannot carry their torch -- only his own.

~ Sydney J. Harris

Sydney J. Harris Children Disappointment Family Let Down Parenthood Parents

The real promise in too many promises is a promise that I’m going to be disappointed.

~ Craig D. Lounsbrough

Craig D. Lounsbrough Abandon Abandoned Betrayal Betrayed Commit Commitment Deceit Deceiving Deception Disappoint Disappointed Fail Failure Integrity Let Down Lie Lies Lying Oath Pledge Promise Promises Promising

In my experience, the biggest reason people struggle to get where they want to be is guilt. Guilt that they have let someone down, and also guilt that they are about to leave someone they love ...behind.

~ Bethany Brookbank

Bethany Brookbank Disappointments Emotional Experience Family Relationships Fear Growing Up Guilt Left Behind Let Down Life Lessons Reason Struggle

Making the hard to decision to throw away a once favorite bra is like deleting an ex-friend that repeatedly let you down.

~ Crystal Woods

Crystal Woods Bad Friend Bra Decisions Disappointment Ex Friends Favorite Bra Let Down

She never wants to get to the point where she looks forward to hearing from someone. Once you look forward to something, you’re inevitably let down and nothing can stay the same so she'd rather expect nothing at all and just be surprised that she was thought of at all.

~ Donna Lynn Hope

Donna Lynn Hope Disappointment Expectations Let Down Surprised

Even the ones who love you most will let you down. They are the ones who will disappoint you more because your expectations of them are higher. When you feel like they have let you down, you need to realize that it is not them who have let you down, but it is only your expectations that were not met.

~ Pinkie Numa

Pinkie Numa Disappointment Expectations Let Down

Don't pretend to comfort me, my friend. I might also pretend to not let you down.

~ Toba Beta

Toba Beta Comfort Let Down Pretend

He was always worrying about me – even when we were kids. If I scraped my knee or fell off my bike, he was the first one to help me up and make sure Mom got a Band-Aid.” “I remember.” I smile. “He was the quintessential big brother.” “He was. But that’s just it – he’s not here to protect me anymore, Anna. And you don’t have to be, either. I know I let stuff get crazy. I didn’t mean to be like that – it just kind of happened. You couldn’t have changed that. I – it was something I had to go through myself.” My throat tightens. “I felt like I let him down,” I say. “All that stuff with smoking and Johan and Jake – I didn’t take care of you. I couldn’t even keep that one simple promise.” “Anna, my brother died. There’s no way you could protect me from that. It’s up to me, now. I let him down. I let me down.

~ Sarah Ockler

Sarah Ockler Anna Reiley Big Brother Crazy Died Frankie Perino Let Down Matt Perino Promise Protect Worried

He had a bad feeling that there was literally no one he could think of who wasn't in some very significant way a let-down.

~ Joe Dunthorne

Joe Dunthorne Disappointment Let Down