It has been in your consciousness since the earliest time you can remember to the present. You have therefore implicitly accepted it, just as a citizen automatically accepts the laws of his or her country of residency. It is a resolute, silent, and unqualified acceptance. I’m talking about the enormous pressure of expectations if you haven’t guessed that already.
You can think you don’t have any or that you only have the most fundamental and practical ones. I implore you to reconsider your position after reading the information that follows.
Expectations are the aspirations you feel you should be granted and satisfied. You form expectations because of how many different factors have conditioned you. All anguish and tension originate from them. Those persistent thoughts that don’t get rid of your desires. The cornerstones of your world are those thoughts that you have pursued and followed.
Your universe is created by thoughts, not by expectations, which keep it alive. All of them are creations of the mind, which is typically an unfocused and uninformed mind. We think there are three different kinds of expectations. Like this:
Self-imposed expectations
You expect yourself to be a particular way before others based on your education, upbringing, social circle, and professional life all of which play essential roles in conditioning. You have established for yourself specific benchmarks and standards that are the result of the knowledge that has been passed down to you in many different ways; typically based on the religion you practice, the company you keep, in addition to other social and personal variables. If you don’t meet these self-imposed standards, it might lead to disappointment, guilt, and disgrace. You will be depressed and distressed.
Others are having expectations of you
You’re supposed to be stressed out by these. Peers, superiors, friends, and family are all constantly pressuring you. Both of you now bear the weight of the responsibility you placed on them. The remainder can be thrown away after the most fundamental ones. Whether or not you live up to their expectations, just being aware of them is enough to shape you and disturb your already disturbed state of mind. These ones will go away on their own after you have clarity on the first ones (from yourself) and are able to let go of the second ones (from others). People’s expectations will be subtly altered by your newly discovered originality.
You must never compromise morality, no matter what. The mother of all virtues, it serves as the cornerstone of joy. Moral behavior, whatever the level of activity or complexity, will always bring about calm.
You are having expectations from other people
They are the ones you rationalize and mistakenly think you merit. Whatever they may be, whether it is recompense, love, things, words, or gestures. You want a specific result, usually, one that is good, based on what you have seen and learned, heard and felt you have accomplished, and everything you have observed and felt you have done. Also, you have increased the weight of expectations because you believe what you want to be true, right, and natural.
With this, you can occasionally increase your personal pressure while also applying it to the person whose performance you are hoping for. You experience pain and disappointment in proportion to the size of your expectation when these expectations are not met.
