Phenomenal Friday: It’s Ok To Have High Expectations

 

Photo Credit

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

I’m an optimist by nature and a pessimist by choice. In having so high an expectation in everything, life, relationships, friendships, work, I’m often met with disappointment. Like a trusted friend betraying that trust or going after that job I thought would be ideal only for it to end up being low on my scale. My list of disappointments can rival a monthly grocery list, yet I remain optimistic because I do have friends that are trustworthy, the job I can make it work until I become self-employed. Currently, I’m property hunting and confident that I will find a suitable one that fits my needs. At this point, there’s no room for the pessimist in my life. I don’t have the energy for it.

If you lived your being conditioned to not have such high expectations in line, to be thankful for what you have because others have less than you do, you can see why the bar continue to be at ground level. There is really nothing wrong with having high expectations, of course, it can lead to heartbreaks and major disappointments but keeping your expectations high means that you know what you want and will never settle for something that won’t make your spirit comfortable. Back when I was still finding myself, there were moments when I settled to either make myself or others comfortable only to end up being miserable. Let me be the first to confess, it doesn’t work. At the end of the day, you have to be able to look at your choices with a smile on your face, butterflies in your stomach while enjoying that sense of fulfilment.

It may be difficult not to feel like you’re demanding too much. There are a few things that are a reminder for me when the pessimist in me try to convince me to lower that bar.

     I Keep Reminding Myself Of My Worth

You have to believe that you are worth it! I put my best in everything I do so I expect people to do the same, I deserve to get what I’m giving. If I give you my time I deserve a little of your time in return. Don’t let people make you feel less than!

     I Don’t Give My Trust Freely

Trust is probably one of the most fragile things in life. Once that’s broken it hard, if not impossible to mend. Don’t give it so freely. I have such high expectations for the people I let into my life so of course, it hurts when they betray me. But once that trust is broken, I may not cut you off completely, but don’t expect me to hold a place in my life for you.

Like everything in life, there is a catch. You must be strong-willed to maintain the motivation to keep that high bar you have set for yourself, don’t be discouraged if you are unable to fulfil your expectations, there were people out there telling me to stay in your lane, that I couldn’t accomplish this or I couldn’t accomplish that. guess what though? Life is full of second chances if my expectations weren’t met? I moved on Move on and it made me even more determined.

 

~Happy Friday

This is my submission to Debbie’s Forgiving Friday series, where she writes about and invite others to share their thoughts on  Forgiveness, Self-Love and Personal Growth.

Stay in touch! Stay inspired! Follow me on Twitter & Facebook

©Etta  D. Richards

Advertisement