Yesterday, I received a great reminder about the power of expectations. Someone at my job told me that negative emotions tend to arise when there’s a difference between one’s expectations and one’s situation. For example, if I’m driving during rush hour and expecting no traffic, I’ll be disappointed and frustrated when I hit congestion; the drive will also feel longer to me than it actually is. On the other hand, keeping in mind that delays are highly likely during rush hour makes it easier for me to relax and enjoy the journey. That mindset shift gives me much more inner peace even though the situation is the same in both cases.
Trying to match my expectations with the situations I get into is different than having no expectations, which is how I’d like to operate. I find the first option to be much easier than the second and I think it might be good practice for working toward eliminating my expectations and accepting things as they are. It has to be a better approach than continuing to set unrealistic expectations and getting upset when I don’t get what I wanted.
I understand these things intellectually but I don’t always remember to practice them. As I’ve said in past posts, trying to change lifelong habits is quite difficult and slow. I think I’ll get there once I’ve spent enough time working on this stuff that it becomes second nature for me. That conversation I had at work feels like a sign to me that I’m on the right track. When I’m paying attention, I notice all kinds of signs that point me in a particular direction or tell me to keep going on my current path. So I’m optimistic about my future with this stuff and I look forward to seeing what happens as I keep moving forward.