The Secret Art of Lowering Expectation

 

Source: Forbes

(A picture of a lil’ girl that can’t believe just how high you set your expectation on stuffs)

Life’s never ceased to disappoint us. That’s what we say most of the time we find something goes wrong. Uhmm… but maybe, and just maybe, all the blame is supposed to be ours. Knowing the fact that life won’t always go as we wish, somehow we can’t help ourselves but to put too much expectation on things. Okay... it may sound stupid, but that’s just very typical of me. My bad, sorry.

To expect something to go accordingly once we get something done is a natural stuff, I believe. We study hard expecting to pass the math. We go to work expecting to be financially stable. We pick out healthy food for a healthier life. We behave nicely expecting to get the same generous treatment. All those stuffs can be achieved through one wholehearted dedication but the last one. It’s just not enough. And why it is so? Obviously. It is because the last part takes ‘others’ into account.

Even managing expectations on something that’s simply about whether or not we give our best shot in order to get the expected results has already been a problem. Lowering our expectation on other people is something beyond the universe. Okay, sorry. I started to exaggerate things. Or not? Well ya, we all know this fact already that somebody else’s thought and behavior are not something we can completely control. In that case, I believe that lowering our expectations is a lesson of a lifetime.

All those articles about how to deal with our own expectation that I read and I still find myself struggling. Expectation is not something we can easily switch on and off as we wish, I know. One thing for sure is that I’m well aware there’s always been consequences on every single thing we do. To put expectation on people means we have to be ready to get disappointed. The higher expectation we put on people, the nastier it hits us in the face when things go differently.

Hopefully, you’ve already conquered the art of lowering your expectation. If you already are, you truly are a different breed. Congratulation!! If you don’t master the secret art yet, no worries. We all know, some of the time, understanding that there are things completely beyond our control is just not enough. Though we are full of potential, we are still just insignificant human after all. We are both capable and helpless at the same time. Even so, getting your good mood back after you get disappointed is something in the palm of your hand. Buying yourself an ice cream or chocolate, doing silly stuffs, going to a certain place, hanging out with friends, spending your time alone. Anything. It may take time, but it works.

By the way as the title of this article says, it’s a secret art. I just can’t share it with you. My apologies... Not to mention, I don’t unlock the knowledge just yet. A half-assed understanding will only lead you to something worse than bad. Anyway, have a good time getting the sacred scroll of the art for yourself.