Great Expectations

Expectations are a funny thing. We all have them and nearly every interaction and relationship is filled with them. But what do they do for us? More than usual we're let down. We create a certain story in our heads and hope others can live up to them... maybe it's the only way we can really lose control. We can't make others do what we hope, so maybe that let down is the only way for us to let go. More than those we have for others, what's worse are the expectations we put on ourselves. Get this job, have this house, drive that car... We continue to work towards something we (or someone else) has set for us. Who decided what was best for us? Is it the commercials we watch? The ads in glossy magazines saying we need to dress a certain way? It's taken over our lives... success is no longer based on merit, but by who you know and well you can act like you like them. So we put these expectations on ourself and tell ourselves it's alright to break our backs to get to where we assume we should be. Talk about pressure. We are our own worst critic and it will always be our expectations that are hardest to live up to.

Where do we find peace amongst all this searching and working? Is the goal to find that peace through your work? Does anybody really end up doing that? We go to school and we study something that drives us but when it comes down to it and we finally cross that bridge to adulthood, none of that matters. You do what you must to live up to those expectations. Happiness sits on the back-burner of our proverbial stove. You put money on the big eye and try to bring it to a boil... if you're lucky it boils over, but for the majority of us the pilot light goes out just as it starts to simmer. Where is the microwave of life? The quick power-boil... Or maybe an induction cooktop, boiling water in minutes... you know, the way Kelly Rippa likes her kitchen.

Anyways, I got off on a sexy appliance tangent and now I really don't know where I was. The bottom line is that expectations are tough. Life is tough. How do you get your peace?