TOTALLY TRUE

The Day My Dog Ate My Expectations

And jeopardised a beautiful relationship

I'm hoping the eye-catching colour grabbed your attention. Photo by author.

I read a line this week and thought: “Duh. Doesn’t everyone know that?”

And then I remembered there was a time when I didn’t know it, so I’ve decided to share it.

Expectations are premeditated resentments

This got me thinking about how expectations, big or small, often set us up for disappointment. If I expect my husband to do the washing up when I have cooked, that would be a small one. And I would be setting myself up for resentment because the chances are he won’t do the washing-up unless I ask him to.

Let me share another wise saying here:

You are much more likely to get what you want if you ask for it

It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? But I still forget sometimes.

One of the large expectations I had that led to a massive amount of resentment was when I believed all seven of the residents in the shared block I moved into would want the same thing: to live harmoniously in a well-cared-for building. Jeez, I got that wrong. Enter a sociopath who thought he could get everyone to pay for renovation work except himself if he bullied and threatened litigation. That was a hard lesson.