They can change your life, emotionally and physically. You need to be extra careful about (and aware of) the expectations you harbor as the wrong ones make life unnecessarily difficult.

Expectations shape your reality

Most of us expect people to agree with us out of courtesy or because our ideas are so incredibly sound.But something that’s obvious to you might not be so to someone with different experiences and a different agenda, so stop being offended when people disagree with you, and stop assuming that there is only one right answer (yours).

Being "approved" by everyone

A surprising number of us subconsciously expect life to be fair, and we believe that any unfairness that we experience will somehow be balanced out, even if we don’t do anything about it. If you’re stuck in that mindset, it’s time to get over it. When something “unfair” happens, don’t rely on outside forces to get you back on your feet.

The (un)fairness of life

One of the most important things a person can do is stick his or her neck out and seek opportunity. Just because you deserve a raise, a promotion, or a company car, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. You have to make it happen. You have to put in the hard work, then go and get what’s yours. If we limit ourselves to what’s given to us, we are at the mercy of other people.

Opportunities don't just happen

... and what you’re trying to say is rarely what other people hear. You can’t expect people to understand you just because you’re talking—you have to be clear.  Communication isn’t anything if it isn’t clear, and your communication won’t be clear until you take the time to understand the other person’s perspective.

People can’t read your mind

If you expect to fail, you stand a higher chance of creating the very outcome you’re worried about. If you fail, accept that sometimes you’ll fail and sometimes you’ll succeed, but if you pursue an endeavor, believe with all your being that you’re going to succeed in that endeavor.

Expecting to fail

There’s only one person in this world you can truly change—yourself—and even that takes a tremendous amount of effort.The only way that people change is through the desire and wherewithal to change themselves. So let go of this faulty expectation.

"Changing" someone

When you assume that people are going to like you, you take shortcuts; you start making requests and demands before you’ve laid the groundwork to really understand what the other person is thinking and feeling.Instead of expecting that people will like you, focus on earning their trust and respect.

Being liked by everyone

Too many of us expect a future event (“I’ll be happy when I get that promotion”) to make us happy, instead of looking more deeply into the real causes of our unhappiness. If you don’t fix what’s going on inside, no external event or item is going to make you happy, no matter how much you want it to.

Happy for the wrong reasons

Your expectations, more than anything else in life, determine your reality. When it comes to achieving your goals, if you don't believe you'll succeed, you won't. Research from LSU shows that people who believe in themselves use more metacognitive functions than those who don't.

Being liked by everyone

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