UNREASONABLE or UNREALISTIC

"The outcome of a situation or task is solely dependent on the type of expectation you place on it."

I was doing some reflection on the events of the past week and I came to the conclusion that there are really only two sets of expectations: Unreasonable and Unrealistic. While some may argue that there is really no difference, I am going to explain why I think there is.

Often times, we set expectations of the things we involve ourself in whether it's a task or a relationship. There are certain outcomes that we want to happen as a result of our efforts. What we don't consider much, if any, is the source in which we are placing these expectations upon. Maybe the situation for the task is not favorable enough or in alignment with the objective to be completely fulfilled, so the expectations are not met and we then find ourselves feeling frustrated with the outcome. If we are in a relationship, and the expectations are not met, the emotional frustration is overwhelming. Recently, I came into realization of the apparent difference between the types of expectations.


Now, I'm no pyschologist, but I would venture to say the pros would agree with me.

Let's dig deeper, here...

Unreasonable expectations simply imply that the potential of the source is below the level of the expectation. We may be aware of this on some level, but we continue to place this expectation upon the source with optimism. They may come close, but don't fulfill with satisfaction. Sometimes we are oblivious to this disparity and proceed as if we expect some miracle of the source to muster a satisfactory outcome.

Unrealistic expectations is placing an out-of-the-ballpark expectation on the source with no consideration of the fact that the source is completely incapable of ever meeting the expectation. We are in a state of denial in this case, and we are doomed for disappointment.

It pays to weigh the ability of the source to handle the expectation. Ask yourself if the source has what it takes to fulfill the expectation with some level of optimism...If not, then you have created an unrealistic expectation and maybe need to alter it, or the source from which you expect to see results.

In essence, set your expectations based on the ability of the source to provide you with what you choose to experience. Or, simply make the appropriate adjustment either in the source or the expectation. view sourceprint?1

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