What’s expected of you?

There are so many answers to that question depending on who is doing the expecting.

If it’s you, chances are you’re in the deepest do-do.

Personal expectation is often a false god.

Expectation would be helpful if it was only a measurement between where you are and where you want to be. Where expectation gets in the way is when you curse yourself for where you currently are.

There is nothing wrong with setting a goal unless it makes you feel less than you are.

Browbeating may get you to an expectation but the victory will be short-lived and hollow. Suppose someone beats themselves into submission that they should be 50 pounds lighter. If they go on a monastic diet (think Oprah in 1986), they exalt and then expand again.

It’s tough enough attempting to live up to the expectations of others, but they pale in comparison to the harm we do when we torture ourselves with our own.

Here is the flawed logic we use. We think a flawed person can craft a strategy to be an unflawed person. The flaw in that argument is that we’re flawed at all.

It’s the perceived flaw that keeps us from reaching our expectations.

Yes, it’s sound benchmarking to do periodic comparisons between where we are and where we want to be, but it becomes pure theatre when we act as if we are flawed.

A flawed person cannot get to where they want to go until they rid themselves of the notion they are flawed.

When you accept who you are and where you are, you increase your odds for reaching your expectations.

Back to the weight loss example: If you came to the realization that you are 50 pound heavier than you would like to be and crafted a sound plan to get there, that’s a step in the right direction. Here’s how that plan gets thwarted:

“I am a fat, lazy slob that needs to lose 50 pounds. I’m going to go on a diet and get to where I expect to be.”

Your expectation is filled with poisonous energy. There is no hint of acceptance in your plan. You are doomed to repeat your failures.

Try this on for size. “According to the height, weight and age charts, I’m 50 pounds overweight. I’m going to seek out a plan that helps me reach that goal.”

The goal is the same in both cases; the methods for getting there are vastly different. The difference that makes a difference is acceptance.

When you accept where you are without all the personal invective and then execute a plan, your expectation has a far greater chance of materializing.

Great expectations can happen but not if you remained flawed.

Start your journey with acceptance and expect to do much better.

All the best,

John

LOSE WEIGHT & KEEP IT OFF
STOP SMOKING FOREVER
SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT EVERY NIGHT
IMPROVE YOUR SELF CONFIDENCE
I LOVE MY BODY
RELAX IN 2 MINUTES
FEEL FOREVER YOUNG
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