The Psychology of Expectations - Deepstash
The Halloween Collection

Learn more about personaldevelopment with this collection

Navigating and enjoying the thrill of horror and scare experiences

Historical knowledge of Halloween and its origins

Understanding and appreciating Halloween traditions worldwide

The Halloween Collection

Discover 64 similar ideas in

It takes just

10 mins to read

Expectations: Premeditated Resentments

Before expecting something, we have to understand two psychological facts:

  1. Merely expecting something will not make it happen.
  2. If we hope to have our expectations fulfilled and those hopes do not have a valid reason, there is bound to be a disappointment.

Example: We start driving and expect to reach by 15 minutes, but due to construction work on the road, we get late and feel resentful.

207

2.32K reads

Magical Thinking: Law Of Attraction

Psychologist Jean Piaget found that young children have expectations and believe that their thoughts have direct effects on the things around them, something referred to as Magical Thinking.

According to the psychologist, we outgrow this tendency by age 7, but it is clear that many adults keep believing that their thoughts affect their surroundings, as evident by the popularity of the Law Of Attraction books.

112

677 reads

Expectations: The Necessary Steps

Just merely using magic thinking and expecting something is not going to get us anything, setting us up for eventual disappointment. If we want something to happen, we have to take the necessary steps to facilitate the same.

Example: Simply wishing for a cup of coffee will not make it come to us. We have to get up from the bed and actually make it in the kitchen.

110

433 reads

Expecting From Other People

Expectations sound logical when things are in our own hands, but expecting others to behave in a certain way will not automatically make it so. And when our expectations are not lived up to by others, we feel shocked and resentful.

These resentments become premeditated, as we set them up ourselves, albeit unconsciously. Example: Ordering medium-rare steak at a restaurant, but ending up being served a well done one.

115

414 reads

Our Expectations Are The Problem

  • Expecting that life will turn out the way we want it to be is a sure-fire way to experience disappointment, because life does not check our expectations before happening.
  • If our unfulfilled expectations involve other people who have ‘failed’ to behave how we expected them to, we are making a critical mistake by getting angry about it.
  • If we are not angry if the cup of coffee we expected from ourselves did not materialize, then why do we get angry if someone else did not make us one?

125

366 reads

Unspoken Expectations: Guaranteed Failure

  • Not speaking to others or having zero communication about one’s expectations is almost guaranteed to make it a failure.
  • Open communication is essential to improve the chances of one’s expectations becoming a reality, but that is also not enough.
  • Merely communicating something to the other person and expecting it to be done is an unrealistic expectation by itself, if it is not in the interest of the other person.

113

358 reads

Let Go Of Expectations

We cannot even understand ourselves, so it is futile to think that we can fully understand other people.

  • Normally, we would not do something inconsistent with our values and goals, so we cannot demand others to fulfill our expectations if it is not consistent with their own interests.
  • We also fail to realize how the other person may resent us for expecting something they cannot fulfill.
  • A better option is to let go of expectations and find something positive, something you are grateful for.
  • If things don’t turn out the way you wanted to, you will feel serenity, not resentment.

119

378 reads

CURATED BY

stash-superman-illustration

Explore the World’s

Best Ideas

200,000+ ideas on pretty much any topic. Created by the smartest people around & well-organized so you can explore at will.

An Idea for Everything

Explore the biggest library of insights. And we've infused it with powerful filtering tools so you can easily find what you need.

Knowledge Library

Powerful Saving & Organizational Tools

Save ideas for later reading, for personalized stashes, or for remembering it later.

# Personal Growth

Take Your Ideas

Anywhere

Organize your ideas & listen on the go. And with Pro, there are no limits.

Listen on the go

Just press play and we take care of the words.

Never worry about spotty connections

No Internet access? No problem. Within the mobile app, all your ideas are available, even when offline.

Get Organized with Stashes

Ideas for your next work project? Quotes that inspire you? Put them in the right place so you never lose them.

Join

2 Million Stashers

4.8

5,740 Reviews

App Store

4.7

72,690 Reviews

Google Play

Sean Green

Great interesting short snippets of informative articles. Highly recommended to anyone who loves information and lacks patience.

Ashley Anthony

This app is LOADED with RELEVANT, HELPFUL, AND EDUCATIONAL material. It is creatively intellectual, yet minimal enough to not overstimulate and create a learning block. I am exceptionally impressed with this app!

Shankul Varada

Best app ever! You heard it right. This app has helped me get back on my quest to get things done while equipping myself with knowledge everyday.

samz905

Don’t look further if you love learning new things. A refreshing concept that provides quick ideas for busy thought leaders.

Giovanna Scalzone

Brilliant. It feels fresh and encouraging. So many interesting pieces of information that are just enough to absorb and apply. So happy I found this.

Jamyson Haug

Great for quick bits of information and interesting ideas around whatever topics you are interested in. Visually, it looks great as well.

Laetitia Berton

I have only been using it for a few days now, but I have found answers to questions I had never consciously formulated, or to problems I face everyday at work or at home. I wish I had found this earlier, highly recommended!

Ghazala Begum

Even five minutes a day will improve your thinking. I've come across new ideas and learnt to improve existing ways to become more motivated, confident and happier.

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving & library

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Personalized recommendations

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates