Expectations

We can't expect anything from anyone. This is something I have learned although most of the time I have to remind myself of this:

If we expect things from people, and they let us down, we are hurt. And the reason I say, we cannot expect anything from anyone, is because quite often we have unrealistic expectations of people and it's not fair to them or us to hold them to these expectations. Most of the let downs in life come from unrealistic expectations. Expectations that bind a person to a certain deed or duty that we wish for them to perform, when quite often they are unable to do so.

Most conflicts come from unrealistic expectations that we have of one another. If we would all support eachother in our endeavors and not expect others to do anything, we will never be let down. Unfortunately being let down is part of our culture. It's part of the society that we are a part of. Parents expect their children to be someone who they are quite often not, often pushing their children farther away and more than likely those same children put unrealistic expectations on their parents, expecting them to be like bobby's parents, or like suzie's parents, when really their parents are doing the very best they can from what they were taught. Friends do it, coworkers do it, family does it, everyone does it.

Like in every type of relationship, if one expects something of someone that they are unable to perform, there is going to be feelings of resentment, jealousy, inadequacy, and the need to perform. I'm sure most of us have felt all these things at one point in time, and when you feel such things you often become overwhelmed by your inability to measure up.

We need to be happy with who we are. This doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to be better people, but we shouldn't beat ourselves up because we are not as good as george, bill, or alice. Maybe George has a strength in leadership and he can speak so eloquently in front of a group and they all want to follow his lead, maybe bill is great with his hands and can turn any piece of metal into something usable, and maybe alice has more compassion than anyone you know, and those are all things that you wish you had. Instead of looking at all the things you do have, why not improve on the things that you do have? If you are a great singer, sing your heart out. If you are a great writer, share your stories. If you are great with people, find a job that will allow you to use your people skills, and if working isn't for you, get involved in something else that allows you to excel in those skills.

I'm pretty sure you all get my point. Let's support eachother, accept eachother, and believe in ourselves and we can do anything. We can achieve our dreams.

Now only if I could take my own advice.