Brandon Sanderson said, “Expectations are like fine pottery. The harder you hold them, the more likely they are to crack.”
It’s a suitable metaphor of having unrealistic expectations; ones that are so defined and held so tightly that inevitability a crack appears and we will be disappointed.
Having unrealistic expectations are when we are being too precise about exactly how things should turn out.
It’s unrealistic, we know things change and switch, especially when other people are involved.
The criticism I’ve often heard when it comes to having more realistic expectations of others is:
‘So what do you want me to do… have no expectations… that’s not helpful and doesn’t give me any hope.’
But it’s not an either/or situation.
You can have realistic expectations which takes into account human error and another’s will and have an expectation that is inspiring for yourself and another.
My final thought comes Donald Miller who said, “When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.”
Let’s have the right expectation of others.