Expectations form from our personal beliefs of how we expect people to act and behave and are the root of disappointment and unhappiness. To achieve happiness, we must detach from expectations.
How to Detach from Expectations
Step 1: Wipe the slate clean.
View every situation like a blank canvas to leave behind past experiences and outcomes that could influence your thoughts. Enforcing this step allows us to exclude our inclination to react with ego, or in a way to try and gain control over the situation. Even if a new experience is similar to a previous encounter, it’s not the same. Look at it with fresh eyes.
Step 2: Focus.
If we focus on our expectations, we’re not connecting to our present. Focus on what you’re doing now, your why and your goals. The moment we expect specific behaviors from others, we’re giving them power over us. No one should distract you from your goals.
Step 3: Try something new.
Check your assumptions; do your beliefs match reality? Doing the same thing repeatedly the same way expecting it to change is also known as neurosis.
If you want a different result, make a different choice.
Step 4: Detach from expectations, things, and people.
Discard fixed expectations based on cultural notions like graduating a top college promises a high paid career helps. Letting go of these influenced thought patterns allows us to be adaptable, which is an essential life skill to achieve happiness.
