Expectations

Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect.

-Margaret Mitchell

Expectations are real killers! They are setups for disappointment. Often, because of our expectations, we are completely oblivious to what is really going on in a situation. Because we are so wedded to what we think should be happening, or what we want to happen, we don't see what is happening.

Many a possible relationship has been aborted because we were too determined to turn it into a relationship.

Expectations also keep us in illusion. We set up our expectations for someone, project them onto the other person, and then we start reacting to our expectations as if they were real. Expectations and the illusion of control are intimately linked.

When we are tied to our expectations, we usually miss what's happening...life, that is.

Source: Schaef, Anne Wilson, Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much, 1990.