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Daily Question, November 5

How might I approach life with fewer assumptions or expectations?

  • Lisa Alvarado

    I would be less angry and defensive…not tying myself in knots because there are situations I cannot control. Also, it would be living with less disappointment and judgment.

  • LisaBeth

    I have been thinking about this since yesterday morning. It has something do with the difference between hopes and expectations, but the idea hasn’t crystallized yet. If I hope for something to happen and it doesn’t I may be disappointed, but if I expect it to happen and it doesn’t, that’s when resentment creeps in.

    • Michele

      I think you nailed it.

    • Holly in Ohio

      I often find the questions where the answers don’t immediately come to me are the best. They roll around in the back of my brain, and it is there that a shift takes place. It is exciting to me that you are experiencing this. I look forward to reading what you eventually find. 🙂

  • Ose

    By staying aware that usually, I don´t know things for sure.

  • Mike

    By remembering I came in with nothing, I am owed nothing, and I will leave with nothing; and that everything I have now or could hope to have in the future could come to me only as a gift.

  • Linda

    As I age, I certainly have fewer assumptions and expectations. There is no predicting what life will bring, so best to relax and enjoy the ride…

  • Blossom

    Watch what they do and not what they say, same goes for me.

  • Don Jones

    Look and pay attention with the intention of seeing things as they really are.

  • dcdeb

    By learning how to expect the unexpected.

  • Lauryn

    Just go with the flow and let things happen. Remember that you are responsible for choosing your own happiness.

  • JDS

    “Unless you have walked in someone’s shoes …”
    I try to live by this .
    It’s a learning experience for me ….
    I am humbled by it & it helps me to be much more open to a person & their story .

  • Phillip M

    Eating more tomato’s.

  • devy
    i can approach life with the attitude of living the present and not trying to second guess what will happen in the future or what i expect will happen. Disappointment can lead to negative feelings..Trying to second guess can be stressful particularly if it is negative thoughts as well as trying to believe that everything will work out well for a person. There are so many exterior factors which can affect the future, things where we have no control of. By living in the present, we see what is hap...

    i can approach life with the attitude of living the present and not trying to second guess what will happen in the future or what i expect will happen. Disappointment can lead to negative feelings..Trying to second guess can be stressful particularly if it is negative thoughts as well as trying to believe that everything will work out well for a person. There are so many exterior factors which can affect the future, things where we have no control of. By living in the present, we see what is happening now, we can be grateful for what we have or if the present is difficult we can understand that tough times are for personal growth and that bad times will lead to good times…

    Read More
  • Katrina

    I’m a slow learner when it comes to dealing with my expectations and assumptions of myself and others. It takes a LOT of self-talk to bring my expectations into the realm of reality. But experience tells me that if I expect too little of myself, I will get nothing done. I tend to be a slacker if I don’t set even moderate or creative expectations. Then I tend to do the same for others.

  • Dusty Su

    Ha, ha, how might I indeed?

  • Holly in Ohio

    We are often not even aware of our expectations, until we feel disappointed, so this sounds like a tall order. A little thing like expecting someone to show on time, can be disagreeable.

    I think it might be easier to replace an expectation with another, one that tells me I really don’t know what is going to happen, but either way, “all is good.”

  • Javier Visionquest
    Expectations have been called our “disappointments in their design phase” but they are also an integral part of the process of manifestation. Assumptions are simply the hypotheses of an expanding consciousness. Incorrect assumptions, taken impartially, are what show us where we’re still unconscious. Perhaps it’s our relationships to these “guesses” that would serve us better to change. When our assumptions and expectations don’t culminate in our desires we take it personally, that ...

    Expectations have been called our “disappointments in their design phase” but they are also an integral part of the process of manifestation. Assumptions are simply the hypotheses of an expanding consciousness. Incorrect assumptions, taken impartially, are what show us where we’re still unconscious. Perhaps it’s our relationships to these “guesses” that would serve us better to change. When our assumptions and expectations don’t culminate in our desires we take it personally, that they’re aligned with the ego identity and not our higher purpose.

    Read More
  • Marnie Jackson

    What a timely question – as this just came up in my meditation. I can remember that everyone’s behaviour is a product of their story. And I can ask about their story to better understand their behaviour.

    • Holly in Ohio

      I like that approach, Marnie. I’m going to try it. The word “expectations” for me also calls to mind expectations we have of others, and those expectations aren’t as accepting or listening. Thank you.

  • sunnypatti

    By remembering that they do not serve my best interest. If I can intercept those thoughts, I can continue the path of peace and gratitude in an easier way.

  • EJP

    By living my life gratefully…..being at peace with all that I have and all that I am.

  • Michele

    This site has taught me one should not have any expectations. Having expectations sets yourself up for disappointment. I find myself having to remind myself of this one.

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