Expectations, Gratitude and Peace of Mind
What are your expectations for your life? Every goal-oriented person has an expectation going into the new year or when starting a new life. Your expectations are hopes, prospects and things you anticipate achieving or having in the future. When there is an expectation, the implementation and achievement become more manageable. You didn’t get to where you are by accident. You are a product of your expectations, whether negative or positive.
Setting expectations is good, especially ones that will challenge us to a higher height. It gives us drive, shapes our lives, and is often a means of measuring our progress. However, expectations can also be harmful, especially when they are not realistic — it puts you under pressure more than it gives you peace of mind. Sometimes, our expectations are not an accurate representation of our world. We feel so much pressure from the world around us that we model our expectations from other people’s reality. For example, the world social media creates for us is far from the truth. It paints an ideal world where every couple on social media has a perfect love life. If you are on Instagram, you are considered an elite member. People display affluence they don’t own. Everyone has a great life on social media until you meet them in reality. The danger of allowing this influence is that you may never appreciate your achievements, and it takes away your peace because you are constantly trying to catch up and live a make-believe life. Many have made the error to build their expectations based on these pressures from total strangers.
The result is them investing a lot of effort on expectations that do not match their reality. Little wonder many are frustrated and depressed. Many have lost their peace because they cannot appreciate their little wins and live within reality. We have seen people borrow money to rent houses in high braw areas even when their income cannot afford it. Let go of expectations that don’t match your reality, embrace your truth and be grateful. What is the essence of achieving all these expectations if you don’t have the peace of mind to enjoy them?
Sometimes, setting high expectations and striving to meet them at all costs forces us to overlook the little gains we made. Gratitude opens your eyes to more possibilities from where you are and gives you peace of mind knowing that you are not competing with anyone but you. Those little things we fail to appreciate often serves as a stepping stone to the great things we look forward to. Be grateful for where you are while aiming for a height.
Don’t wait for that big win to be grateful for life. Be grateful always. If achieving your expectations will steal your peace of mind, then it’s not worth it. Peace of mind comes from being appreciative. You can be thankful for what you have and where you are now. Gratitude comes from what is — not what might be. Focus on what you have now!
