'Expectations are a form of first-class-truth: if people believe it, it´s true.' Bill Gates 

Setting up realistic expectations presumes knowing well our limits. People usually tend to set them too low or too high. Either they don´t know how to estimate their personal abilities, they intentionally keep their expectations low to avoid disappointment or they set them extremely high, not having a chance to succeed. 

In fact, there is a small line between realistic and unrealistic expectations. But as always in life: we can learn to get there.  

Typical ways of setting expectations

When it comes to people setting their personal expectations for a specific venture they are following, some of them have an entertaining way of going about it:

1 - THE PESSIMIST 

I will set my expectations as low as possible. Then I will succeed in any way.  

If  you habitually set your expectations extremely low, as a result you won’t put much effort and passion into the pursued venture. You already set yourself up for a prophecy of little fruition. That could be called a 'defense mechanism' used to protect us against any eventual pain or failure - it´s refusing to come face to face with reality.   

2 - THE OPTIMIST 

I am going to set my expectations high. If I won´t meet them, I´ll have still enough time to be disappointed. 

If you set your expectations too high, there is obviously a certain risk of reality crashing down on you. This causal chain can make you pessimistic. If you continued like that during some time, it might result in you having a negative attitude toward any new achievement you choose to pursue in your life. Then the extreme optimist turns into a disappointed pessimist. 

As you can see these two ways are not very constructive. One encourages you to underestimate your power and never truly succeed, the other is quite risky and may lead to big disappointment. 

But no worries - there is still the golden middle course! 

3 - THE REALIST 

First of all, we have to recognize that self-enhancement is a very human tendency. We all like to feel good, and that is why we have an innate inclination to view ourselves in a (overestimated) positive way, even when this view is not realistic. 

Surely there are also many people who struggle with low self-esteem. We all perfectly know how to think poorly of ourselves at certain times or in specific areas of life. 

Regardless, when people are asked about how they would rate on intelligence, attractiveness, kindness or other interpersonal areas, they usually see themselves better than average. 

Setting up realistic expectations means being honest with yourself 

LEARN FROM THE PAST 

Analyze your previous results in order to predict your future achievements. There might be an increase to be expected, but keep it within a realistic ratio. If your best steemit article ever got a payout of $50, your next one supposedly won´t make it to $100. 

KNOW YOUR TIMING

Realistic expectations need realistic timeframes. When you set timings that are achievable and realistic to your process, it actually saves you time, because then you are able to strategize and execute within that specific timeframe, which will surely get results. 

BE OPEN TO CHANGE

If you want to achieve a results you have never achieved, then you might have to change something along the way. You cannot change the output without adjusting your input. If you are open to change, you are able to improve yourself, thus your expectations. 

There is a small line between unrealistic and realistic expectations. We have to know well our abilities and limits in order to predict future results. Self-enhancement is important, but honesty as well. There is nothing more disappointing than constantly unaccomplished expectations. Be flexible, open to change and self-improvement, aline your expectations with your already celebrated successes, push yourself forward, learn from your competitors - but don´t demand miracles. We are all human beings, born to learn and to grow through life´s challenges. 

I wish you all a successful steemy week, full of accomplished expectations! :-)
Marly - 

Picture source title: https://w-dog.net/wallpapers/
Picture source expectations vs. reality: http://topyaps.com/
Picture source quote miracles: http://www.elasticmind.ca/
Picture source Mila Kunis: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/
Picture source quote results: http://www.motivationblog.org/