What is the Importance of Your Expectations?

In uncertain times, expectation plays a greater role in our daily lives. What we expect in uncertain times is affected by the uncertainty of events. Uncertainty can cause fear and anxiety. It can also cause our expectations to become unimportant. If there is no clear direction towards a certain goal, we will tend to drift towards an idle mind.

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When there is no clarity in an individual's thought process, an expectation about an uncertain future is created. This is called the hope of attaining something. In uncertain times hope tends to supersede rational thinking. An expectation, which may be a purely subjective belief, can or may not actually be realistic.

A lack of a goal can create a feeling of de-affliction and depression. A person may start to feel that he is worthless and that his life has no meaning. Depression often accompanies this state. A lack of a goal may actually lead to feelings of worthlessness and helplessness.

The expectation that you cannot attain a goal because it is not possible is known as self-doubt. This also creates a state of depression. You may take up activities and give in to impulses blindly without being aware of the consequences. If you do not control your self-doubt, you will not be in a position to understand and control your expectations.

A situation that is beyond your control can create expectations which are unreal. The outcome of a situation is unpredictable. If you have a strong anticipation about an event, it can result in anxiety. Your expectations can either intensify your anxiety or you can experience de-affliction if the situation turns out unsatisfactory.

Expectations are also affected by our attitude towards a situation. A person's emotions are affected by his beliefs and his thoughts about the future. If you think that you cannot do something, you will not believe that you can achieve it. In the same way, if you expect too much from yourself, you will not have enough energy to act when the time comes. It is better to focus on the outcome and the role you will play rather than on your expectations.

It is important to remember that the success or failure of a situation is not decided by your expectations. However, it is decided by how you react to a particular situation. Reactions can either strengthen or weaken an expectation. An expectation that has been strengthened by positive thoughts may not materialize into reality. Conversely, an expectation that is supported by negative thoughts may result in the failure of a situation.

An expectation is essentially a mental habit. It is something that we keep telling ourselves all the time; but are we really sure of what we are saying? Your expectations can help you succeed at work or in other situations. However, they may also lead you to failure or disappointment.

Your expectation should be balanced. If you have a high level of expectation, then you might feel that there is no chance for you to get what you want. However, a low level of expectation could make you believe that the possibility of getting what you want is almost zero. If you are in a position where you are very confident that you will get what you want, then an overly high expectation might prevent you from acting. Thus, your confidence level needs to be balanced.

Your expectations should be realistic. When you have high levels of expectation, you are more likely to act on those expectations, regardless of the risks involved. If you have a very low level of expectation, then your mind tends to think that your expectations are unrealistic. You will have high levels of self-doubt. Relying on your mind to overcome your uncertainty is dangerous.

An expectation should have a deadline. When an expectation has a deadline, it makes it easier to act and control your thoughts. The results will only take you as long as you want them to. For example, if you set an expectation to complete your homework by the end of the day, you can complete it. If you set an expectation to only get an A on the final exam, you can do it.

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You should also be aware that having too much of something does not necessarily mean that you have too much of it. You do not need to get too much in order to have a fulfilling life. In fact, there is a lot of room to have a fulfilling life with very little of anything. Therefore, if you set a reasonable expectation and gradually increase your expectations, you will have more faith in yourself.