Expectations are limitations placed on us by ourselves, whether the actual expectation is our own or someone else's.
How many times have you found youself anxious about the time as you're getting ready for a sumer get-together? As the time nears, and your partner isn't ready, or the kids refuse to finish dressing, a knot forms in your stomach.
Or maybe, for you, it isn't being on time that causes stress, but having people over. Or wondering if that birthday present for your Mother is something she'll actually like this year. There are many reasons we experience stress, even through the summer, and most have to do with expectations...either yours or someone elses that you're trying to live up to.
Rather than allow the anxiety and stress to grip your insides, take a look at why you find yourself snapping at family members or looking for a way out of this year's family reunion. It may not be the event itself, but the expectationis surrounding it that are getting in your way.
What is it you find yourself dreading? Now take a moment to think about that event or activity. Is it really all that bad? Or is it what comes next? And whose expectations are keeping you from enjoying yourself?
It can be very freeing to call ahead and acknowledge that you're going to be late, but you also have to be willing to let go of it and not worry what your Aunt Bertha will say. Stepping out of the expectation, whether it's your own (I have to be on time) or someone else's (they're always late), is important in lessening the effect of expectations on your life. The key to less anxiety is letting go of expectations. It does little good to give yourself permission to be late for a summer get-together if you're constantly berating yourself and obsessing about what everyone will think.
It's easy to expect ourselves to be...that perfect image of who we want to be. Always at our best, never letting anyone down. But we are not, and never will be, perfect. We're human. And if we cut ourselves a little slack, we might just enjoy it.
Add to Onlywire