Although it is unclear, it sounds as though OP cancelled meetings so that he could fly out earlier than planned in J, not that he flew out in J and then took his meetings on arrival.

But, as to OP's general question, he is asking about what are generally known as "compensatory" damages, those which do not flow directly from the delay itself, but from other follow on issues.

As OP can imagine, the "what if's" of compensatory damages are excluded by all carriers as they are not reasonably determined.

Perhaps the meetings would have gone poorly for OP and he would have lost business, so he is better off for having cancelled them? How do we know?

As to the decision to fly in Y on schedule or to skip the critical meetings and fly in J, that is a cost-benefit decision which only OP can make.