Unachievable Expectations

Hello wonderful readers,

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July!

Something I have been struggling recently is setting unachievable expectations for myself.

This is something I have always battled with, but it has been coming up more often lately.

I have mentioned many times before that I am a perfectionist, even though I know perfection and being a perfect human being is not possible. Knowing and admitting this doesn’t stop me from striving for perfection. I wish I could turn off this desire like a light switch, but it seems to be ingrained in my DNA or just my way of thinking.

I am a planner, always have been, possibly always will be. 

I like to enter situations knowing what could possibly transpire, what might be said, what people might do, etc. I know there is no way of knowing how people will act, or what they will say, but I like to be prepared for what could possibly happen. 

Most of the time, I am wrong, just flat out completely incorrect. People can either surprise you (in a positive way or a negative way, depending how you want to perceive it).

I have recently come to the conclusion that my predictions and expectations cause me a lot of unnecessary stress.

When something doesn’t go “my predicted way”, or when I set high expectations for myself and it doesn’t go as I planned, I get upset. I sometimes get frustrated, angry, or I feel let down.
I have been trying and working on going into situations without expectation or anticipation of what could possibly happen. 

This is not easy for my planner brain, it feels as though I am malfunctioning or that I am underprepared. It’s not in my nature to just “go with the flow”, and that is something I am working on.

We are all humans and we all have faults. We set exceptions and get our hopes up for something that might never happen. 

Please do not mistake this for me suggesting not to get excited about life, or situations. That is not what I am suggesting.

I am suggesting and working on letting go of unattainable expectation so we don’t have the unnecessary stress that we initially created.

If you are similar to me and like to plan, prepare, and anticipate everything, this might be a great week to work on stepping back, noticing your thoughts, and asking yourself if you are setting yourself up for happiness or unnecessary stress.

Simply noticing the thoughts can help overcome this stress.

I hope you all have a great week filled with no expectation or anticipation at all.

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Together, we rise. One breath at a time.
Namasté