The Great Storm of Expectation

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -- Thomas Edison

Expectation is a driving component in just about everything we do, even when we make a conscious effort to open our minds and hearts. Our expectations of ourselves are driven by what has, or hasn't been expected from us by those around us. It is prevalent in class wars, in politics, and within the family unit -- and in many other areas.

We take our expectation into the books we read, judging a book by a cover, the publisher, that review we may have read or the words of a trusted friend -- or sometimes the enthusiasm of a total stranger. Perfectly good movies are ruined because of hype and the expectations we have set for them before walking in the theater. We grab our coats or umbrellas based on the expectations of the weather. The same goes for our jobs, our relationships, everything.

We assess the risk of everything we do. Is it worth it?  Is is worth our time, our money, the stress? When we are lucky, there is very little gap in what we expect and what things turn out to be, or if we are very lucky our expectations are exceeded.

There is always a bar, the inevitible bar that will raise or lower those expectations.

For thousands of years societies across the world have expected that their children achieve something near what they have, and in fact "jumping classes" has been the exception rather than the rule. But it is a fine line to tread. Which is a greater load to carry, having had too much expected from you where you feel you can't keep up or having expectations so low that you feel that no one has faith in you? How do we naviagate this line within our families and as we decide what we should expect from our leaders.

We need to start raising that bar. Inch by inch, in our own lives in what we expect from our future generations and from out leaders. At first we will likely be disappointed, but in giving ourselves something to overcome we are bound to meet and beat those challenges. Persist, persevere,and prevail.

Gretchen Lee Bourquin is the author of the novel No Sensible People, available in print from Lulu.com and Amazon.com. A preview of the 2nd edition is available as a free download for a limited time via her website.