Great Expectations

Reading a newsletter I subscribe to a few weeks ago, there was an article on expectations and just how much they can affect our response to situations. I found it particularly interesting when you sit back and think about just how much this can affect your daily life. Think about times when you are running late. If you are running late for a doctor or dentist appointment – you may be a bit frantic, but chances are, you probably don’t expect that things will be running on time, and therefore, if you’re a little late, it won’t be the end of the world. Conversely, if someone is late for an appointment with you, you are likely to be pretty perturbed – you expect that they will be on time, and are a bit aggravated when it doesn’t happen. Or perhaps you buy an old junker car to ride around in – if it breaks down, it’s a bit frustrating, but certainly not unexpected. But if your brand new car breaks down? BIG problems. This isn’t to say this is a good or bad thing – but framing things and point of reference are huge in our daily lives, likely without us even noticing. The more aware we become of ourselves and why we react the way we do, the better. So the next time something really bugs you, take the time to think about perhaps the expectations you had for it. Were they maybe irrationally too high to begin with? Or perhaps you have every right to be upset, but you still need to gather yourself and go about changing it. Food for thought.