no expectation = no motivation

Some people say that if you don't expect anything you will not be disappointed... After giving it a lot of thought, I came to think about this belief as mediocre & pessimist. It's an oxymoron, because when you're trying to avoid expectations to protect yourself, it's because subconsciously you're expecting the worst possible outcome in every situation. Makes sense?

I believe that expectations go hand in hand along with dreams & goals.

We enter competitions & contests because we expect to win. When we work, we expect to get paid, or to get a promotion. (Some) People expect to help others & expect to make a difference in the life of others & in the world. Doctors & scientists keep researching because they expect to find new cures & vaccines. We pray because we expect that our prayers will be answered. When times get tough, we get up, dust ourselves off & "keep walking", because we expect that things will get better, we know that we deserve a happy ending (don't we?), and thus we're going to get one. In the end of the tunnel, we expect a ray of light, and after the rain, we expect sunny days. When the night comes, we expect to see stars. Sure, we may get disappointed from time to time, c'est la vie, but if we don't expect anything from life, we'd lack ambition & motivation. To to get started we must have a destination.

Some synonyms for expectation are: belief, anticipation, confidence, hope, promise, intention, relience, trust. Wouldn't our lives feel empty & frustrating without all of these words &, most importantly, their meanings? Think about a kid with cancer. Remember Martin Luther's speech: "I have a dream!..." Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill... Remember Obama's "Yes we can!"... You think they had no expectations? Think again.

"Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star."

PS: Of course, you can't rely ONLY on expectations, you must DO something about them too! ;-)