Expectations vs. Reality

Have you ever had a delicious scoop of ice cream fall right off your cone and just go splat on the ground?

Man, that never ceases to be a truly disappointing life moment in its purest form.

You had an expectation of the pleasurable direction things were going, and then all of a sudden, it completely flopped on you.

As a kid, that’s one of those classic initiations when we come to the harsh realization that reality will not always match our expectations.

As adults, we deal with more complex versions of losing our ice cream, like getting a new boss that we like far less. Or when an unexpected failure sets our company back or simply when we’d planned to spend the day outside, and it ends up pouring rain.

In truth, when you really look at it, reality rarely matches our expectations. So, the one thing that we CAN expect is that our experience will rarely be what we DO expect. What a ride it is to be a human, right?

We almost always build up a story of what we think things will be like in positive and negative ways. The ones who thrive are the people who retain their sense of balance when the rug gets pulled out from under them.

What if you could gracefully dance with “change” the way a wine cork on the ocean buoyantly floats, leaving you delighted, amused, and even inspired by the unexpected on the other side.

Getting a new boss that you like less could be the perfect person you need to feel challenged by to move you in the direction that truly serves you. A failure that sets your company or project back could allow your project to move in a profitable new direction, and in my life, rainy days, so many times, turned out to be the most memorable and special days.

We live in a culture of instant gratification. If we allow ourselves to get caught up in having everything we want right away, we miss our chance to follow the path of something potentially even more extraordinary.

So, if I could offer you one thing when it comes to disappointments and unmet expectations, it would be to relax, trust the bigger picture... and find your inspiration.