“Expect the worst and you won’t be disappointed.” – Malcolm Douglas Munro
Yes, that was my father. He lived by that quote. He depended on that quote. That quote never failed him. And because of that my father lived a life full of unfinished projects, unfulfilled aspirations, and unrealized dreams.
If he were alive today, he might say he was prophetic. I think it’s much more a case of self-fulfilling prophecy. We live up to or down to our expectations.
Therefore, we ought to get better managing them.
Managing our expectations means looking at each one through a lens grounded in the present, not that past. With this perspective, we have a better idea of what the future will look like. Maybe this is one reason why cars are built with a huge front window and just 3 small rear-view mirrors. Our expectations should come from what’s in our current reality and what is to come.
It took me many years to remove my dad’s mindset from mine. I now look at failures as a necessary result in the pursuit of excellence and winning. Instead of being a bad, final outcome, they are merely stepping stones forward.
What do your expectations tell you?
