Expectations???

Is life really what we make of it? Do we just get what we expect...or deserve...or is it a crap shoot? We took our first group of boys to do the ropes course today, they also happen to be our most difficult group, and when I was asked how it went I didn't have a ready response. After giving it more thought I determined that it had gone better than I had expected but not as good as I had hoped. I am not going to lie, I was a little disappointed in the whole production but I couldn't put my finger on why. After the kind of discussion that only happens in a therapeutic environment, I felt better about my day, but why? Did I just adjust my expectations to match reality? Isn't that what we do, instead of being optimists or pessimists we become realists? What comes first, the reality or the expectation? Is it all just self fulfilling prophesy?

I believe happiness comes from having realistic expectations and being thankful when things exceed our expectations. When our expectations are not met we need to a) concede that we have aimed too high b) believe it will be better next time or c) amend our expectations so we are satisfied with what we have.

I wont always fine-tune my expectations to fit the situation, I simply refuse. I think that if expectations are set too low there is no effort made to be anything better than average. I look at my life and I wonder, are my expectations too high? Am I asking for more than my fair share or better than I deserve? Will having high expectations always leave me feeling disenchanted? There are some, I believe, who truly do have preposterous and unreasonable expectations, they are unhappy. There are others who set their expectations just out of reach and are confused and bitter that they never grasp their unattainable ideals.

Is it wrong to ask to live in an idealistic reality? Is it possible to find the happy medium, having high hopes and practical expectations? I shall try!