Managing Expectations

Whenever I stare at my own reflection in the mirror, my simple reflected image becomes a lady wearing a black toga, holding a piece of rolled-paper and wearing medals on the neck. Then I realized that, the lady in the mirror is someone that I expect myself to be in the future.
In all walks of life, we encounter a lot of expectations on the way. We learn to expect and to be expected of something by others. It is one of the realities in life that can never be erased- Expectations. It is up to us how we manage it accordingly in ourlives.
Expectations are not static, it is dynamic. It comes in different ways, forms and actions. It can inspire us to do well in any field, because it ignites us to achieve the things entrusted to us by our peers and the expectations we foresee to ourselves. Since our parents expect us to have good grades, we really try hard to study just to fulfill it. Even in class or small group of friends, we share a lot of expectations that push us to do something great. But expectations, also pressure us. Daily pressures sap our energy. And as a result, sometimes we take these pressures negatively and it affects our relationship to the people around, and our emotional growth. Have you ever experienced to be expected by other people to do something you cannot do? Or be someone you are not? It is a painful idea to force yourself in something, just to please other peoples’ expectations. Fear, is one of the reasons why we keep on trying to be somebody else even if it hurts us already. Sometimes we really try hard to meet the expectations of the people around because we are afraid that we might be neglected and be criticized. Expectations from our family, friends, and teachers and even to ourselves can be real, difficult or impossible. Sometimes although we reached their expectations, there is still something wrong if we know to ourselves that we are not happy to it. If expectations come flowing so hard and it seems that it cannot be handled anymore, we became exhausted and we lost the spirit of fulfilling it. But the most painful thing among all is, when many people expect a lot from you, then if you haven’t met their expectations, they just go along and leave you. How awful!
Our family, as well as our teachers, expects us to be successful in the future. That’s real yet difficult. Our friends have a lot of complex expectations. Too much expectation can also be the reason of broken relationships.
Thus, we know that we can never avoid expectations in life. Wherever we go, even if we climb to the highest mountain or hide in the deepest part of the sea, we can never erase the reality of how expectations touch ourlives. But it is still up to us on how to manage these expectations that we face in ourlives. We must always consider that we are all humans. If there are things we can do, then, there are also lots of things we cannot do. Our expectations to ourselves and to others must be reasonable. We should not expect a mouse to fly! So as to ourlives, let us not expect on something that is impossible. Expectations that are hard to achieve requires big efforts. If we try to continue to do our best, and ask help to our Almighty God, somehow we can find ways to fulfill the expectations from other people and to ourselves. Expectations are always there. It cannot be deleted in a snap, and it will never be. But it’s one of the wonderful mysteries and features of being a human, and one of the reasons why we call life beautiful. Expectations must be handled seriously but not pretentiously. So, in fulfilling expectations, be true, be you…