A Flemm Blog

We fancy ourselves 'intelligent' beings.  Life-forms that think, and plan. As a result, before we do anything we anticipate the result. We calculate (often subconsciously) the possible outcome, and pick one (also often subconsciously) as what we think is most likely (we're often wrong). This possible outcome we have chosen is what we expect to happen - we have built an expectation.

The problem here is not that we expect a certain result from every action, it's that there are no controls over how these expectations are formed. Think of a terrible sports team (i.e. Leafs) building the expectation that they will win every game. 

All of us, from time to time, make unreasonable expectations, and it's no way to live your life. When the leafs lose a game, all of their idiot fans are angry about the loss, but that is compounded by the fact that their expectations weren't lived up to.

If you expect to be excessively happy, and find that you're just at par, the failure to live up to your expectations will make you unhappy.

I try to live life expecting nothing good to come my way. That way, when nothing good comes my way, I'm not bummed about it. 

The key to life is managing your happiness. Proper expectation management makes that much easier.