Expectation; according to me this is one of the biggest reasons for unhappiness. When you expect something and you do not get it you become unhappy. Expectation does not always have to be with a person, it could be from a situation, from a place, from an experience.
How many times have we heard this- “I did not expect this, I did not expect this place to be so good, I did not know what to expect”. Which means that we always have an expectation. In fact if you come to think of it all arguments and fights always start with someone not meeting the expectation.
So what is expectation? I think expectation is a mindset. It is an opinion or judgment I form about a person, a place, thing or an experience. It is the thought inside my mind which tells me BEFORE the incident what it will be like. Which means it is basically something which is not real it is a made up thing! If it is something we made and it is not real why does it bother us so much?
Having an expectation also proves that we don’t live in the present, we have already thought about what will happen in future and missed out on what is happening at that moment around you therefore missing out on the happiness at that time and with expectation missing out on the happiness of the future as well.Happiness means being happy every minute and every second therefore it is important to be present in the present and not think of what will happen after some time. Living mindfully as much as possible can help one expect less and less since one will always be in the present.
In The Gita, Sri Krishna says “Karma kar phal ki iccha mat kar” This is another way to get out of the expectation trap. Just do your job and do not worry about the result leave it all to him, the god, the creator. Every time you feel anxious about what will happen and if one or the other could happen just start thinking of God and that he will be the one who will decide the result no point thinking of it.
It is not easy to stop expecting anything from anyone but take the first step and give up expectation for 1 thing you will see the level of peace and calmness which you will get and that will help you progress further.
Look forward to hearing from you
Happiness Path 