The Power of Expectations (and How to Use them to your Advantage)

How being aware of expectations can help us feel more content and resilient

Having expectations about how things will go is a natural human instinct: we are wired to want to know what’s coming. Expecting ourselves not to have expectations is a contradiction in terms — and a potentially harmful form of denial.

Like emotions, expectations are a normal part of life. When you are aware of your expectations with kindness and curiosity, you can use the information and messages they hold to your advantage. Let’s explore how.

The perfect training ground.

The pandemic has repeatedly crushed our expectations: Many things we took for granted were suddenly, indefinitely off the table. Even now, buying a concert ticket for summer or booking a flight in September feels like a game of roulette (or am I alone in this?).

“We often subconsciously expect life to go seamlessly. No injuries, no tantrums, no inconveniences.”

We can use this uncertainty to our advantage. By bringing awareness to what we are expecting, communicating this clearly, and training our ability to deal with changing…