great expectations

ex·pec·ta·tion / [ek-spek-tey-shuhn]
–noun
1. the act or the state of expecting: to wait in expectation.
2. the act or state of looking forward or anticipating.
3. an expectant mental attitude: a high pitch of expectation.
4. something expected; a thing looked forward to.
5. Often, expectations. a prospect of future good or profit: to have great expectations.
6. the degree of probability that something will occur: There is little expectation that he will come.
7. Statistics.
8.the state of being expected: a large sum of money in expectation.

a little (well, not so little) word that encompasses so much. it can give you much joy-- in anticipating something good, something positive, something favorable. but yet, it can bring you crashing down when they are not met.

take a look at your life-- how many times have you been down in the dumps because of unmet expectations, whether of yourself, of others, or things & situations. expectations are generally a good thing to have-- gives you something to look forward to. but yet it's so important to strike a good balance in your expectations. set your standards too low, and they kinda lose their purpose (my view), and set them too high, and risk being disappointed or hurt.

i know i'm guilty of setting expectations on people; especially people who mean something to me, or are special to me. maybe it's a factor of setting high expectations of myself when interacting with them. i know it's not fair and i know it's not healthy, but i guess i'm just wired that way. i'm trying to re-adjust my expectations, even zero-rize them in some cases, but it's really tough. but i guess i need to learn to, to prevent myself from more pain & hurt.

i wanna take things easier, and one way of doing it is lowering my expectations of others, especially those who matter to me.

so wish me luck as i embark on another chapter in the "Growing Up" course...