Lower Your Expectations to Find Greater Happiness

Today we are going to continue to take a closer look at the great points made by Tim Hoch in his article for Thought Catalog, “10 Ways You’re Making Life Harder Than It Has To Be.” We’re focusing on point four: having unrealistic or uncommunicated expectations.

It’s so easy for us to build up expectations in our mind of how others will treat us, whether it’s coworkers, superiors, friends or family members. But building up unrealistic expectations only serves as a good way for us to create scenarios in which we are extremely likely to be let down.

The fact is that people can’t read your mind, and they can’t possibly know what your expectations are unless you communicate them. This isn’t to say that the solution is to vocalize your unrealistic expectations, though better communication of reasonable expectations is always encouraged. Rather, you should attempt to lower your expectations instead. Lower expectations make it much harder for you to be let down.

As Hoch says in the article, “minimize your expectations, maximize your joy.” Developing a more realistic view about what you can expect from other people and how you can share those expectations will make your life a whole lot easier.