How Long is Your Expectation Yard Stick?
Many people, who come to me say, they are disappointed or frustrated, because they have not accomplished as much as they have aspired to achieve. “Believe me, I am hard on myself to achieve my goals, but for some reason I am stuck or fall short,” he/she laments. Ironically, being hard on oneself creates an unconscious resistance toward one’s desired outcome. No one responds well to a tyrant. You are being a tyrant when you are ‘hard’ on yourself.
People often have expectations of themselves that they can not live up to. Where did these expectations come from? How long is their yard stick? A yard is thirty-six inches. However, many people have a yard stick two or three times longer.
You need to remember that you are doing the best you can at any given time. Rather than impose unrealistic expectations on yourself, you need to love and accept your accomplishments, step by step. If you love and accept yourself, you will notice, it all works out easily and effectively, more often than not.
What are reasonable expectations? Reasonable expectations include demonstrating consistency, persistency and perseverance toward your goals. When you apply these behaviors you will achieve your goals. It’s reasonable to expect consistency, persistency and perseverance of yourself, because, everything else is something you are ‘hoping’ for and ‘wanting’ to accomplish.
When you expect consistency, persistency and perseverance of yourself you are using a thirty-six inch yard stick. Unlike expectations, consistency, persistency and perseverance, has only one definition and measurement. Since consistency, persistency and perseverance are the behaviors that are required to achieve a goal, your behavior becomes the only requirement.
Doris Day sang and popularized the song: “Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be.” It is a song about no expectations. No expectations means no attachment to outcome, which means that you can be content no matter what transpires, because you know that there’s a reason, or a higher purpose, behind divine organization and you can accept what is and continue creating. You can be like Thomas Edison, who discovered hundreds of ways that a light bulb wouldn’t work, yet, he persevered until he discovered the one way that a light bulb would work.
Thank you, Mr. Edison for your consistency, persistency and perseverance. There is no way to calculate how much longer we would have been without the light bulb if Edison had not been consistent, persistent and persevered – something to ponder.
Create your internal light bulb, give yourself the gift of consistency, persistency and perseverance. It is worth its weight in gold and money can’t buy it.
Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach – Certified Hypnosis Practitioner, Author and Speaker. Dr. Dorothy connects people to principles that resonate in the deepest part of their being. She brings awareness to concepts not typically obvious to one’s daily thoughts and feelings.
