Expectations: That Word That Has a Way of Driving Us Crazy…
Christmas is upon us and another year stares out from the clock. Was it a good year? Did we accomplish what we intended to? Above all, did it live up to our expectations? Ah expectations, that word that has a way of driving us crazy.
We arise each morning with expectations for a great day; we indulge the day with the hope of deeds fulfilled and goals accomplished; we face the evening sometimes satisfied, sometimes not, and we surrender ourselves to the night with expectations of a better tomorrow. Such is the stuff of life, a life filled with expectations.
What are expectations, except thoughts of a future yet to materialize? They are made of desires, aspirations and dreams. They are the shape of things to come, or so we hope. But let’s face it, they can be finicky at best, and out-and-out devastating at worst. We expect great things to happen, and when they do, our immediate thoughts spin to “What’s next?” “Is that it?” “Isn’t there more?” Just the same, disaster strikes and they scatter, and not unlike a sobbing child whose favorite toy just broke, we shriek “Life’s not fair!” and yelp “Why me?”
Yes, expectations tug at our emotions and test our reason, but nonetheless, necessary they are. A life without them is a life without hope. We must expect good things to happen, or else life is meaningless and void of reason. We’d lack the spring in our step and the jazz in our smile. We’d be creatures of gloom, sauntering from “no particular place” to “no particular place.” Action becomes an alien word, where happiness only strikes others (see Take Action & Achieve Happiness…).
Walmart founder and American businessman Sam Walton said that “High expectations are the key to everything.” He was certainly onto something, for without them Mr. Walton would never have built the largest retail empire the world has ever known. His would have been a different destiny had he not had the will to great expectations, and the wherewithal to take action to achieve them.
Therein lies the lesson: expectations are but a stepping stone to achieving the life we desire. Expectations alone will not bring us to our destination, but without them, there is no destination. Action carries us toward our destination; expectations create it.
So this Christmas season, stand back, take note, give thanks, and take stock. Take stock of expectations past, present, and future. And just as Scrooge experienced a Christmas awakening, let us too experience an awakening – an awakening of what it is we expect from this journey called life…
To all my loyal readers, a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and thank you for your continued patronage…
For more, check out The C.A.T. Principle: Change, Action, Trust – Words to Live By, a Global Ebook Awards GOLD & SILVER Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of 2014 and 2016, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. See the latest Amazon reviews here.
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A 2014 Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook.
A 2016 Global Ebook Awards SILVER Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook.