We all have expectations from our friends, family, partner, colleagues or even strangers. A world without expectations would be a monotonous place where everything is the same. No one likes being bored. It’s normal to have expectations; what’s important is how we manage them and deal with their unfulfillment. If you are someone who has found themselves disappointed time and again because of not meeting set standards, take heart! Everyone goes through this feeling. The trick is to find ways to avoid such disappointments as much as possible in your life from now on. Here are some tips:
Don’t label people or things
It’s not fair to label people or things you expect from them. It’s like giving a verdict before hearing both sides of the story. People are not things, and they have their own inherent nature. They are not going to change because you have set standards. If you have set expectations from your friend, it means you have labeled your friend as “attentive.” If your friend fails to live up to your expectations and doesn’t respond to them, you will feel disappointed. People are not robots or machines that can be programmed to act a certain way. If you expect your partner to be loving and caring 100% of the time, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Humans are not programmed to do something all the time. They have mood swings and bad days too. If you have expectations from your partner to be loving and caring 100% of the time, you will end up disappointed.
Try not to have any expectations from your relationships
You might find this hard to believe, but you should try not to have any expectations from the relationships in your life. If your set standards are not being met, you are bound to feel disappointed. If you expect your partner to be loving and caring 100% of the time, you will be setting yourself up for disappointment. Humans are not programmed to do something all the time. They have mood swings and bad days too. If you have expectations from your partner to be loving and caring 100% of the time, you will end up being disappointed. If you expect your friend to respond to your call or message all the time, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. People don’t have to respond to you all the time. They have their own lives, their own priorities, and their own reasons for not responding to you. If you expect them to respond to you all the time, you will end up being disappointed.
Take care of yourself
Expectations are self-centered. When you have expectations, you are being self-absorbed. You are only concerned about your feelings, your needs, and your emotions. You are not bothered about the other person’s feelings, needs and emotions. You have to take care of yourself first before you can expect anyone to take care of you. If you are not in a good mental and emotional space, you can’t expect anyone to give you anything. People can sense your negative vibes even before you open your mouth to speak. No one is going to want to be around you or give you anything when you are down or feeling low. You have to take care of yourself. You have to be happy and positive before you can expect anyone to give you anything.
Find the positives
Expectations are negative. They are like curtains of doom and gloom in your life. You keep staring at them and waiting to see them fulfilled. You have your head down and your eyes closed waiting for something to happen. You are expecting something to happen, but you are not doing anything about it. This is not the right way to go about your life. You have to open your eyes and see the positives. You have to open your eyes and see the good in people. You have to open your eyes and see the good around you. Then you will have everything in your hands to make your life better.
Set boundaries
Every friendship, every relationship and every association have its own set of terms and conditions. You and the other person are aware of when things are going overboard and when they are not. You have to set boundaries with the people in your life. You have to let them know when they are overstepping their boundaries too. You have to let them know when you are being overstepped. This is how you set boundaries. You have to be assertive and not let anyone take advantage of you. If you have set expectations from your friend, you are being controlling. If your friend fails to live up to your expectations, you are hurt. You have to let go of your expectations from your friends. You have to let go of being controlling too. You have to let go of being a know-it-all too. If you have high expectations from your partner, you are being manipulative. If your partner fails to live up to your expectations, you are hurt. You have to let go of your expectations from your partner. You have to let go of being manipulative too. You have to let go of being a know-it-all too.
Conclusion
Expectations are like opening a closed door. You are waiting for something to happen, but the door is closed. Nothing will happen; you will just be waiting forever. You have to open the door first. You have to take the first step first. You have to make the first move first. You have to make the first move towards something (or someone) before you can expect anything to happen. You have to do something before you can expect something to happen. You have to open the closed door yourself. You have to make the first move towards yourself. You have to make the first move towards yourself before you can expect anything from anyone else. This is how you avoid having expectations and live a fulfilling life.