Hassler - Expectation hangover: overcoming disappointment in work, love, and life

Praise for Expectation Hangover

If youve never been disappointed, you dont need this book. For everyone else, heres an approach that will shift you from letdown to breakthrough. Christine Hasslers insightful and practical book will get you moving quickly and powerfully toward greater success and fulfillment.

Marci Shimoff, professional speaker, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Happy for No Reason

Life is difficult, not unfair. We all need to be truly educated and prepared for lifes difficulties. Christine Hasslers new book can do that for us. Just as hunger leads us to seek nourishment, an Expectation Hangover can help us to nourish our life. When you are willing to ask yourself, What am I to learn from this experience? you will find what ultimately nourishes your life. Her techniques contain the wisdom of the ages and sages. Read, learn, and transform your challenges into blessings and lifes charcoal into diamonds.

Bernie S. Siegel, MD, author of The Art of Healing and 365 Prescriptions for the Soul

I wish Id had this step-by-step guide on how to overcome huge obstacles when I shattered both my wrist and my dreams of playing for the NFL. Dont let your Expectation Hangover control your life apply what is in this book!

Lewis Howes, former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur, host of The School of Greatness podcast

Christine Hassler is the kind of true spiritual guide we all need in our corner soulful, wise, compassionate, and practical. Her proven methods and deep personal understanding are like the best medicine ever for your heart and soul.

Christine Arylo, self-love catalyst and author of Madly in Love with ME: The Daring Adventure of Becoming Your Own Best Friend

Christine Hassler continues to be an invaluable voice for every generation. Her insights and observations have changed and enlightened the way I look at my life and the way I raise my children.

Michael De Luca, film producer and Columbia Pictures president of production

Disappointment can be a big, ugly monster hiding under our beds. This book is the go-to for getting us through Expectation Hangovers with grace and shining light to cast away those ugly creatures of disappointment!

Kathryn Budig, author of The Womens Health Big Book of Yoga

Christine Hassler is brilliant and insightful. Finally, here is the solution for dealing with something that plagues so many, myself included. If youre hoping to thrive in a world that seems to hand out setbacks at every opportunity, this is the book for you. With transformational truths and real-life stories, Expectation Hangover will change the way you approach any challenge, giving you the courage and the wisdom to transform your life.

Marcia Wieder, bestselling author of Making Your Dreams Come True and CEO/founder, Dream University

Warm and encouraging wisdom for when things dont go according to plan. Christine Hassler is a tremendous ally for navigating through lifes most challenging moments, and this book is a powerful road map for dealing with disappointment in an efficient and empowering way that becomes a doorway to profound personal growth.

H. Ronald Hulnick, PhD, president, University of Santa Monica, and Mary R. Hulnick, PhD, chief educational officer, University of Santa Monica, authors of Loyalty to Your Soul

ALSO BY CHRISTINE HASSLER

20 Something, 20 Everything

20 Something Manifesto

Copyright 2014 by Christine Hassler

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

The material in this book is intended for educational purposes only. No expressed or implied guarantee of the effects of the use of the recommendations can be given or liability taken. Names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of others.

Expectation Hangover is a Registered Trademark of Christine Hassler.

Text design by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hassler, Christine.

Expectation hangover : free yourself from your past, change your present & get what you really want / Christine Hassler ; foreword by Lissa Rankin, MD.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60868-241-6 (hardback)

ISBN 978-1-60868-384-0 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-60868-385-7 (ebook)

1. Disappointment. 2. Adjustment (Psychology) I. Title.

BF575.D57.H37 2014

152.4dc23 2014018040

First paperback printing, February 2016

ISBN 978-1-60868-384-0

Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

I m sure my loving parents meant well when they raised me to believe the world was my oyster. As the oldest child doted on by adoring parents, I grew up thinking the world would treat me as lovingly as my parents did, so imagine my surprise when I wound up in medical school, where I felt judged and criticized by my professors, who were regularly scolding me for my stupidity and incompetence. I also figured all men would treat me like the princess my father had led me to believe I was, so imagine my confusion and hurt when I wound up in a marriage with a man who didnt dote on me like my parents did.

By the time I was thirty-three years old, I was very successful in my career as a doctor, but I was twice divorced, professionally disillusioned, and taking seven medications for a host of health conditions my doctors led me to believe were incurable. Saddled with a serious case of entitlement, I felt like the Universe had let me down. By the time I was thirty-six, I wound up with one dark night of the soul after another that culminated in a massive Expectation Hangover when the compounding losses left me humbled, emotionally paralyzed, and on my knees.

I thought I might find relief by quitting my job as a physician, selling my oceanfront house, and moving to the country, where I planned to launch my new career as a writer by penning my first masterpiece. But things didnt go as I planned, and by forty-one, I found myself $200,000 in debt, with no agent, no publisher, and a third failing marriage. My life had strayed so far from the fairy-tale life I had expected that I barely recognized it. Where had I gone wrong? My self-esteem took a major hit, and the shell of my ego started to crack. What I hadnt anticipated was that underneath that shell, the real gold had been buried all along.

I had to mine the gold from my Expectation Hangover one teensy nugget at a time before my life started to turn around. The process was slow, painful, and filled with self-judgment, disillusionment, frustration, roadblocks, and tests of my faith. Because my journey eventually yielded a great deal of personal, spiritual, and professional satisfaction, I cant regret a second of it, but I can say that I wish I had been blessed with Christine Hasslers book back when all this was happening. It might have saved me years of unnecessary suffering!