When you wake up to start your day, do you have expectations of how people are going to treat you or how they may perceive you?
There is something in this world that you simply cannot change – and that’s other people. When you live your life expecting certain outcomes, or certain expectations, you become disappointed.
Expectation leads to disappointment.
But there is a way to live without needing to experience this feeling of disappointment: Think less about the expectation and think more about the objective.
So what does this mean? Well, living with an objective means not sitting around with these expectations of how you are supposed to be treated by other people, it’s about placing the focus on how you treat other people.
This is how I live my life: I wake up every single day with Gratitude. I’m grateful that I get to live this day. I’m grateful that my words may make an impact on the world today. I’m grateful that I, Jeff Yalden Youth Speaker, coming from where I’ve been to where I am today, can make a difference in society.
I walk out my door ready to attack my day and give my energy to the world. I go out with an objective: to be present, to be respectful, to be kind, and to be grateful.
If I’m not respectful to others, do you think they will respect me back? Probably not. Regardless of how I look or dress, if I give respect to others and I am kind, I’m probably going to get respect and kindness in return.
And if you are respecting others and they are not respecting you back, for whatever reason that may be, it’s not about you. It’s about their personal inadequacies.
Why do you give people power over how you feel about yourself? You control your life. You control your destiny. You control how you feel – people and circumstances should not control you.
Focus on the objective. You have the power to do that. Focusing on the expectation will only leave you disappointed.