What are your expectations producing in your life?
June 14, 2009 by Joe Gigantino
Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy. ~ Brian Tracy
How many times in conversation do you say to someone or they say to you, “Well….what do you expect?” Think about it – when you do specific things in your life, are you doing them mindlessly, or are you doing them with specific expectations in mind? I think we’re all guilty on both counts, or maybe there’s times when we’re not really truthful and we tell ourselves, “Wow…I didn’t know that would happen.” Say you’re driving 95 in a 65 and you’re surprised when you see flashing, red lights in your rear view mirror. I mean, “C’mon – what do you expect?” Now I’m sure you weren’t driving fast hoping you’d get pulled over. We all know there are consequences for our actions, but why not plan the outcome by managing expectations wisely?
Our expectations always imprint our hearts and form our inner image. You may tell yourself, “I have bad genes; all of my mother’s side of the family is obese. There’s no amount of exercise or dieting I can do to be lean. This is just the way I am.” If that’s your attitude, then you’re right – you will never be at a healthy weight because obesity is what you’re expecting in your life. Or maybe you never furthered your education by getting a degree and you go through your career thinking, “I’ll never be promoted, they only promote those with college degrees.” If you expect to live a defeated life, then regardless of the potential you have within you, your expectation will produce that defeat in your life
What do you believe about yourself? What is your value? I’m not talking about just changing your thoughts in order to change your life. That’s all well and good, but true transformation takes place at a much deeper level. It’s what you believe that produces freedom and transformation in your life. Let me say that again – it’s not just what you think, but what you deeply believe. First you must believe in yourself, which in turn supports your behavior. That transformation comes from your heart first, not anywhere else.
What image are you projecting in your life? If you don’t like what you see, then change it! By changing your inner image by what you believe about yourself, you can potentially change your outer outcome. You have the ability to choose your expectation in any circumstance of life. Freedom of choice is a beautiful thing that we humans have, as no one can dominate our attitudes or take our choices from us. The same thing goes with others in your life. Often people will become what you expect them to be. What are you expecting from your children? Just because they may bring home less than desirable grades at times, do you expect that they’ll be losers all their lives? Hopefully not! Start expecting good things from them, and watch what a difference it makes in their attitude. And since we are all products of our parental influence, you can positively shape your children’s lives by your expectations of them.
You will live up to the level of expectation you place on yourself, or you will live down to your expectation of yourself. No matter what your story is, start believing in yourself. Do you want to improve your health, your fitness goals and ultimately your life? Then decide what you want, start believing it in your heart, and begin to EXPECT those good things and changes to take place. The changes will reflect over your whole persona. Then when someone gives you the standard question “How are you?” You can reply with a smile on your face, “I’m great – I’m EXPECTING!”
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Joe,
That was an amazing post!!!! Printing it out right NOW. I am going to read it every single day before i go to sleep and when i wake up. Along w/ my own personal expectation list!!
What a great motivational tool: "decide what you want, start believing it in your heart, and begin to EXPECT those good things and changes to take place. The changes will reflect over your whole persona. Then when someone gives you the standard question “How are you?” You can reply with a smile on your face, “I’m great – I’m EXPECTING!”"
It is difficult to encourage a person who plays tracks in their own mind about themselves all the time….. You can make the negativy come to pass by almost willing it so.
Thanx as always for your encouragement for us all to be better & healthier in mind, body & spirit!!!
~Trish
Joe,
Another "home run" blog post!!
We don't always get what we "want" in life. But, we almost always get what we "expect". It is a self fulfilling prophecy brought on by our subconscious internal guidance system, causing us to make decisions and choices that are in alignment with our expectations even when they are in direct opposition to what we say we want.
Only by consciously examining and changing our expectations, can we change course to be, have and do what we want…
Thanks for all the encouragement, insights and positive energy to contribute to so many!! YOU make a big difference in the world!!
~Karen
Great post! A wonderful reminder of how influential our thinking is to get a cycle going. Expectation is so important. Choose the right way of thinking, and you can start a positive cycle. Thanks for sharing that Joe! Great motivation!
-Lincoln
Lincoln, Karen and Trish, thanks so much for all the encouragement you are all so wise! I'm glad this blog was helpful and grateful to have the support and feedback
I could not agree more! What an amazing post. I am definitely going to print and share with my clients (since I'll have so many very soon
). See, there's my self-fulfilling prophecy. Just taking the word "can't" out of your vocabulary works miracles. Because there is nothing we "can't" do if we put our minds and hearts into it. Thank you for writing such a beautiful piece!
Excellent reading on this one! It's true, your mental attitude has such a huge impact on everything that we do. A quote I saw recently by Mary Kay Ash, "If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't you're right!"
Sometimes just a bit of success in someting we do can lead to another, than another, than another.
Thanks for another AWESOME blogpost, Joe!
Hey Joe,
This is a great post! I especially like the pictures, so true. At 168 pounds, I would be classified as a big cat but my mirror nonetheless shows a 2,000 pound ferocious panther! Thanks for the post.
All the Best,
Andrew R
Go Healthy Go Fit