The Upside of Unmet Expectations

 OK, I admit it, I had a rough day yesterday. Someone said something hurtful to me (unintentional I think), I broke a tooth, and a really great job possibility didn't work out. By the end of the day (and actually into the next) I was upset to put it mildly. I cried, pouted, fumed, and retreated to my warm, cozy bed feeling very sorry for myself. "How can this be?" I asked myself. I had higher hopes and expectations of others, myself, and how life was supposed to be.

Then, emotionally exhausted, I slowly came to my senses. I reminded myself that life doesn't always turn out the way we expect it to. Sometimes we need to let go of our vision of how life ought to be and see life as it really is. Sometimes we simply need to let go of the things that aren't so important and give ourselves room to appreciate the gifts that are present. All to often, we are blinded by our disappointment and fail to recognize the upside of unmet expectations. 

Yes, we all have expectations, as we should. We expect things will occur according to our preconceived ideas and plans. And when those expectations don't turn out the way we imagined, we become frustrated. However, I've found that sometimes the unexpected outcomes of my unmet expectations have wildly exceeded my dreams! For example, I worked hard at completing a masters degree with the expectation of obtaining a good job and being able to support myself and family. I did not expect that the downturn of the economy would prevent me from finding a job.

In addition, we closed our small business. We were disappointed in our unmet expectations, to say the least. Yet, through this difficult experience we have benefited in so many ways. We have become creative entrepreneurs (always dreaming), learned to grow our own vegetables, bake our own bread, make apple wine and live a simpler life.

Guess what? I'm very happy and thankful for this experience! I did not expect life to turn out this way but somehow it's exactly how I've always wanted it to be. Perfect by no means, but pretty darn good! So next time you're feeling  frustrated and disappointed, take some time to look for the upside of your unmet expectations.
You might be surprised...