Why Do We Have Expectations?

Jatindeep Singh
3 min readSep 27, 2022

Expectations are the fervent conviction that something will occur or be true. Our expectations shape reality more than anything else. Those close to us are likewise impacted by our expectations. People might rise or fall in a self-fulfilling prophesy depending on our expectations and beliefs.

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What does it feel like when something or someone in life receives all of your effort but the outcome is only a fraction of what you had hoped for? Yes, I am writing about a topic that is difficult to comprehend nowadays.

Whether it is a relationship, a business, a career, or a person, we all have expectations from various things. Every person has some expectations for what they will get in return for their time, money, effort, affection, and other investments.

And it is a very devastating experience when, after investing all of the time, energy, and other resources, one only gets a percentage of the anticipated outcomes. Although everyone is aware that "expectations will not always be satisfied," when you give everything you have without expecting anything in return, there is always a remote chance that you will receive even a single dollar as recognition or payment.

Let’s look at an example: a boy named Charlie works in a bakery and, on a regular basis, bakes 100 loaves of bread to sell. Because the oven they had was not as large as was needed, it took him 4-5 hours to complete the task. Charlie made the decision to construct a large oven that could bake 50 loaves of bread at once while also being reasonably priced for them. Then he constructed an oven out of cement and raw mud, adding iron support rods to make it durable enough to use. Over 60 loaves can be baked at once in this oven, which can also be used with coal or wood. The bakery’s sales rose as a result of this technique. Charlie now anticipates some sort of reward or remuneration for his concept that made it feasible, but the bakery owner disregarded Charlie’s contribution and treated him improperly, leaving Charlie disillusioned and quitting his job after a short time.

If you were in Charlie’s shoes, what would you do?

Why do we all anticipate things that end up making us unhappy? We all have significant questions in our minds for ourselves to make a thing possible, which is known as an expectation we make for ourselves from any kind of source. This is known as human psychology, and it occurs when we make anything happen, such as in a job, relationship, or any personal activity. However, when we talk about not expecting from anything, we mean that one must make sure they are not expecting anything to happen in a planned manner or state. Therefore, having expectations is normal, but they shouldn’t lead to disappointment if they aren’t met.

You have my sincere gratitude for reading. I genuinely hope you enjoy it, and I would appreciate any open criticism you may have regarding the main idea of the piece. Read on.

Jatindeep Singh

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Jatindeep Singh

Writer & Researcher| Love to write about everything.