The Workshop Went Great. So Why Do I Feel Disappointed?
Tips for overcoming disappointment
This past weekend, I finally checked off one of my goals from my New Year’s Resolutions:
✅Host a paid, virtual masterclass on the skill of humor.
It went well. People showed up. We laughed, we learned, we lolled.
And yet… I still feel a little “meh.”
Despite the overwhelmingly positive feedback I received from the participants, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
"I loved it."
"It was a systematic deep dive into the mechanics of humor."
"More!!! (Please)”
Why? Because the class didn’t sell out. I was aiming for 12 participants, 10 paid, and only 8 showed up.
And while I’m grateful for those 8 (they were incredible), I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a full room.
I recognize 12 was a bit of an arbitrary number, but it’s also a low number. I chose it because it’s still small enough to be hands-on but large enough to have a variety of attendees.
Plus, there are over 12,000 people on this newsletter, so I thought having a 0.1% purchase rate was totally doable.
Failure is Just Data
For a long time, I’ve preached that “failure is just data.” If a joke doesn’t land, it doesn’t mean I’m not funny—it just means that joke didn’t work… yet.
But I’ve also realized something:
It’s way easier to have this “growth mindset” when you already have success under your belt.
A failed joke doesn’t bother me because I’ve had incredibly successful ones before, like this one with 4 million views:
But I’ve spent the past 18 months trying different ways to bring this skill of humor directly to you via courses, challenges, live sessions, and a bit of coaching… and I still haven’t had that “runaway success” moment.
So when this workshop didn’t fill, it was harder to chalk it up as “just data.”
Instead, my brain did what brains do: it tried to tell me a dramatic story, something like, “See? This will never work. Just stick to keynotes and accept that travel wins and family time loses.”
And while that story feels true in the moment… it isn’t.
Overcoming the Sting of Disappointment
I’ve talked to a few colleagues and mentors and they’ve all told me not to view this experience as a disappointment.
After all, I helped 8 people unlock their skill of humor. And I’m grateful for them taking a chance, showing up, and making the experience genuinely fun and insightful.
One of the principles I learned from the Applied Improv Network is: “Whoever is meant to be there, will be there.” And they were.
I get it. But I also get that pretending like you feel 100% amazing when it’s only 50% true isn’t healthy in the long run.
But there are two things I’ve found that help get over the sting of disappointment. The first, I’m doing right now:
1. Debrief the Experience
The first step is getting whatever thoughts you have about the experience out of your head. If all you do is ponder and stew on the disappointment internally, it tends to snowball and feel bigger than it actually is.
If you talk about it or write it down instead, the logical perspective tends to come through. Just writing this all to you is helping me focus on the positives moreso than the negatives.
And with reflection, I realize this experience is the first of many, a stepping stone in the right direction. As we learned in Adventure Time,
The content’s strong. The main feedback from the group was they wanted more time: more chances to workshop, practice, and get feedback. That’s an easy fix.
Where I struggle is the marketing. I know that “if you build it, they will come” only worked in Field of Dreams. And yet, I didn’t do a great job of articulating why humor isn’t just a nice-to-have in today’s tough environment, it’s a must-have. That’s what I have to suck my way to getting better at.
2. Take action
The second step is to move quickly to action. Rather than wallow in despair doing nothing, decide on baby steps you can take to move forward. This experience can become just a stepping stone IF I keep on stepping.
Help Me Improve the Humor Lab
To that end, I’d love to do an informal survey to help me understand why 99% of you weren’t interested in the Skill of Humor Live Lab.
Just click the reason that best fits you:
It’s just a click with an optional follow-up question after that (unless you want to share more). As a bonus, I’ll share the humor handout from the workshop for completing the survey.
Despite that small tinge of disappointment, I know that this weekend was a step in the right direction.
Plus, I did check off one my New Year’s Resolutions. Now I just have 47 days to get into the best shape of my life by putting on 10 pounds of muscle… that’s doable right?
Wit regards,
-Andrew
Watch Bob Newhart's you tube on "stop it". Helps change perspective.