Do you ever catch yourself saying “I should” do this or “I should” do that? 

Most of us make decisions based on what we believe we should do rather than what we want to do. Expectations have been heavily ingrained in our society and we learn to adapt them very early on in life.

Expectations quite often can cause problems, for when they are not met, we become disappointed, and all too often they are never met. 

This is how we set ourselves up for failure. Our ego’s get so hung up on expecting people to act and behave a certain way and when they don’t we through a pity party. We assume that they should know better, after all "it’s just common sense," however, that is not the case... 

Most of us don’t even realize that we are projecting our reality unto others. All too often we can have unreasonable expectations of ourselves that are unhealthy. We can be our own worst critique and therefore it can be hard to escape our own attitudes, for they form the nature of what we see.

This is where we can work on acceptance, to have compassion for ourselves and others. Love is acceptance for what is, right now, in the present moment. Some of us make the mistake of living in the future, looking forward to all our expectations. When we do so, we overlook the treasures of today. When we let go of our expectations for a particular out come, we can learn to appreciate the true beauty of the moment, the true beauty in others, and the true beauty within ourselves.

I invite you to travel beyond your expectations... remember, you have a choice. Don’t “should” on yourself or others, it’s messy! Reclaim your power. “I could” do this or “I could” do that. Choose to be proactive instead of reactive. Take personal responsibility to create the future you envision, above and beyond expectations.

Copyright 2021 Adena Sampson

Adena Sampson, Founder of Outloud Productions & The Unbreakable Spirit Movement, is a Breakthrough Coach, Motivational Speaker, Singer-Songwriter, and Best Selling Author. Having overcome the insurmountable Adena leads by example, teaching us how to turn challenges into victories and inspiring us to live a more authentic, courageous, and passionate life!