“What did you…”

…think would happen?”

…want the outcome to be?”

…expect?”

Expectations are tricky. They come in many shapes and sizes. Expectations have many sources – parents, friends, teachers, and ourselves – to name a few. You can’t escape them. They are literally around every corner you turn or over every hill you climb.

“Expectation” as defined by the Webster Dictionary is “the act or state of expecting; anticipation.”

Humans are “anticipation junkies”. Seriously. We are. Embrace it.

How many times have you anticipated attending a party, vacation or some other big event  only to have the experience be less than you expected?  Heck, you probably even said “oh, this is not what I expected” when this happened, but somehow you still managed to enjoy yourself anyway, didn’t  you?

Oh, and anticipation works the “other way” also. You can receive more than you expected which still allows you to enjoy  the experience, maybe even enjoy it a little bit more.

So, how it is you can enjoy yourself no matter if your expectations are met or not?

Expectations are challenging. We place ALOT of pressure on ourselves and our events to be “perfect”. Unfortunately, life isn’t perfect. And neither are we. We fail alot. We fail to meet expectations alot.  However, we never stop trying to reach our lofty expectations or maybe we modify them a bit…maybe.

That’s what makes living so fantastic. When we fail, we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and try again. There’s no limit on the number of times we can do that. We only stop the cycle when we decide we’ve had enough; when we feel the efforts outweigh the benefits. And that’s too bad.

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you had tried “just one more time” and succeeded?

It’s easy to find out what.

Next time you feel like throwing in the towel. Don’t. Simply try again. And then try again. And then try maybe one more time. And then try one more time for good measure. And then try just one more time after that.

Why? Because you just never know what to expect around the next corner or over the next hill.