If you want to live a happier life just lower your expectations. Yes, you’ve heard it right: the key to happiness is to have low expectations! Seriously, not expecting much from something or someone is the biggest gift that you can gift yourself. The best part about? It doesn’t cost a thing… You just have to have the right mindset.
What does it mean to have lower expectations? Is that equivalent to being pessimistic? Personally, I don’t believe lowering expectations means settling for something less. No. It’s about having a different perspective on life.
The Secret To Happiness Is Low Expectations
You see, most people are miserable because they worry too much. That’s the truth right there. Feeling that you need to meet other people’s high expectations about you is nothing but a pure illusion. In other words, the responsibility or the burden is not real. It’s something that we make up in our heads because we believe it’s right. Since we’re all sort of social creatures, it makes sense that we seek some sort of validation from our peers.
Do you know what’s even more disconcerting? The expectations that we have about ourselves. Who should we be… What kind of life should we be living… The people that we’re supposed to fall in love with… The career moves that we should be making… Lies, people! Big lies that we’ve told to ourselves. Who set these rules? No one. Exactly! We worry too much about “what we should be doing” instead of enjoying the moment.
You know what? Planning ahead is good, but don’t let it take you away from what’s happening in the present. We are not living the future, but in the present. All you can do is to deal with the things that are happening right now. Let the future you deal with the things that are about to come.
Life Is Cruel Roller-Coaster
For those who think life is a like an upward hill, I’ve got news for you… Life is nothing but a cruel roller-coaster. Just when you think things are going pretty well, it hits you right in the face with something terrible. It’s almost as if someone was playing a joke on you. But no, that’s just life laughing at your face. However, the roller-coaster has an upside as well. Therefore, when you find yourself in the worst situation possible and you feel hope has left… Hang in there, something good is about to happen. Happiness might not last forever, but also that means misery cannot last forever as well.
Managing Expectations In Life
As I said before, the key to happiness is to have low expectations. However, one needs to know how to have low expectations and feel okay about it. You see, it’s very easy preach about having low expectations in life. But what about our own sense of self-worth? If I’m not getting the things that I’m expecting, does that mean I’m not worthy of those things? That’s the million dollar question that will either make you or break you!
Let’s get deeper and with a more specific example here. For instance, imagine yourself applying the low expectations rule to romantic relationships. If your partner does not meet your expectations (whatever they are) and you stay… Does that mean you’re settling for less? It depends… So, no one is perfect and if you’re able to accept that then you’re simply having realistic expectations about that person. However, if you stay because you think no one else will ever want you, then you’re showing a very low sense of worth. In this case yes, you’re indeed settling for less.
I guess in the end it’s all about balance. You want to manage your expectations in a realistic way but without ever sacrificing your own self-esteem. Therefore, it’s not worth it to burden yourself with other’s people expectations about you or even your own. Set your own rules and do not link high expectations with your sense of worth. You can get many amazing things from life without even expecting much from it!
