Expectations

“Expectations are like the ocean, the lower you go the harder it is to get back up”

Has anyone ever advised you to expect less when you go into a situation so that there will be minimum disappointment after said scenario? I’ve heard this multiple times from friends and colleagues, and truth be told at the beginning I honestly followed it. On paper, it sounds correct, right? The less you expect, the less likely you are to suffer the consequences of expectations. In doing this however...you’re effectively causing a drawback within your own mind that may be worse than any magnitude of disappointment.

Improvement, something that is quite necessary for human growth and development is hindered by this mindset. If you know that you’re capable of something, a level of success, then aiming below it will do nothing for your mental state. By telling yourself that it’s acceptable to achieve less than what you are already able to reach, you’re forcing your mind to work less than it needs to, because in your mind at that point, you’re already at a level to achieve your expectation.

How is one supposed to improve if said person only tries to reach heights that have already been reached? Imagine a mountain that is life, you’re climbing it one step at a time, there are struggles but you get through them as you reach higher and higher. Once you decide that your goal is to climb DOWNWARDS towards what you have already gone past, then you’re hindering forward movement, you’re going backward instead of forward in life.

When you expect more, when you try to reach higher than you’ve ever done before, your mind takes up a personal challenge, it tells itself that hard work must be done to achieve that goal, and you feel contentment, because now you’re trying to climb higher and higher, to you’re ultimate goal. It improves your ability because you’re developing skills that are beyond your capacity, but in doing so, you’re also effectively expanding your capacity, allowing you to be better than what you were.

Expecting a lot is not a bad habit, I would actually advise you to do it. Not only is it a source of motivation, but it also improves your deportment and eloquence in a field.