The problem with expectations is that they are never a forgone conclusion.
Expectations sometimes fall short and other times are exceeded. The thing is they rarely are met.
Oh sure if you have an end goal in mind like this 13 year old who is going to attempt climbing Everest then the expectation would be hard to exceed. Even if he doesn’t reach the summit he’s already exceeded my expectations of what a young man his age is capable of.
The great thing with expectations is that they are never a forgone conclusion.
Many people expect to fail. They may not come out and say it but the lack of action, the lack of commitment and the lack of passion all add up to result in an expectation of failure. Unfortunately those expectations never even become a reality because they defeat so many before they even try. I say unfortunately because it’s a shame to not even try something based on a fear of expectations.
The problem with expectations is others have them.
No matter what it is others always have expectations. That new idea you have, some expect it’s been done before and won’t work. That desire you have to start something new, others expect you to fail. Starting a new project in your spare time, your boss expects you to focus on one thing at a time.
On the contrary there are many who expect great things from you, they expect it to work, they expect it to go a certain way.
Both expectations good or bad are still just that, expectations.
The great thing with expectations is they don’t matter.
Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t have goals and yes by default that is an expectation. I am saying dont limit yourself with expectations. Most likely you will exceed your expectations in many areas and fall short in others. However unless you go for it neither can happen.
Expectations create a box, a set of paramaters which ultimately ends up limiting your creativty, your ideas and your direction.
The challenge comes in not letting expectations defeat you before you even get started or define you as you’re on the journey.