Release your expectations to be happier
Do you know someone who seems to have a deep sense of inner peace? Someone who easily forgives others and finds joy in the little things? They’ve discovered a state of being that transcends pain and suffering. It isn’t magic, and it isn’t something you’re born with. It’s a choice to live with no expectations, no disappointments – to take life as it comes and turn it into something extraordinary. You can make this choice starting today.
The meaning of no expectations, no disappointments
When we think about the meaning of no expectations, no disappointments, romantic relationships often come to mind. Every single one of us has been disappointed by a significant other. Some of us have been disappointed so often that we’ve stopped expecting our relationships to be healthy and fulfilling. But this isn’t the optimal way to approach romantic relationships.
No expectations, no disappointments doesn’t mean lowering our standards or accepting a life that is less than what we deserve. It doesn’t mean giving up on our goals for a happy, healthy relationship and meaningful career. It doesn’t mean that we stop growing and learning new things.
When we embrace the true no expectations, no disappointments meaning, we begin to live fully in the present. Our lives are filled with acceptance, gratitude and love. We stop fighting things that are out of our control and focus our power on what we can control: our own mindset, emotions and actions. Learning how to be happy without expectations means realizing that fulfillment comes from within.
It’s a realization that will transform your life.
Why expectations cause us pain
Pain in life comes when our reality doesn’t match our expectations. Most of us expect to have achieved certain milestones in life by a certain age. We expect to be married, have a family, climb the career ladder or reach the top in a specific way within a set amount of time. We expect other people to be kind, respectful and trustworthy. These are our blueprints – our expectations for the way we believe our lives “should” turn out to be. When reality doesn’t live up to our blueprints, we feel pain. We blame our circumstances, ourselves and other people for our disappointment.
The truth is that life doesn’t owe you anything – so stop expecting and start accepting. That’s the essence of no expectations, no disappointments.
How to be happy without expectations
To unlock the secrets of how to be happy without expectations, we must turn our focus inward, rather than outward. If we accept the way things are instead of fighting them, if we practice gratitude instead of always wanting more and if we recognize that the only person we can control is ourselves, a life of no expectations, no disappointments will follow.
1. Change your story
The stories we tell ourselves ultimately become who we are. Do you hold yourself and others to unrealistic standards? Do you think you need to be perfect to be deserving of love? These are limiting beliefs, and they will hold you back from learning how to be happy without expectations. As Tony says, “We can change our lives. We can do, have and be exactly what we wish.” It starts with changing your story.
2. Take responsibility
Part of changing your story is getting rid of the belief that your life is the result of circumstances beyond your control; that other people are not holding up their end of the “bargain.” When you live with no expectations, no disappointments, you know that there is no “bargain” others must uphold. You accept responsibility for your emotions, actions and life. Once you accept that you are the only person you can control, you’ll stop expecting others to live up to an imaginary ideal.
3. Forgive
No one is perfect. There’s no doubt that at some point in your life, others have failed you. But holding onto the past only holds you back from achieving your true potential. Before you can discover the true meaning of no expectations, no disappointments, you must forgive them. Forgiveness is powerful, especially in relationships. When you set yourself and your partner free from blame, guilt and pain, you create more room in your life for joy. That’s what makes life worth living.
4. Be grateful
Joy doesn’t just happen. It’s not something that you’ll achieve one day if only you have the perfect job, relationship or family. Joy is a state of being. Most of all, it is a choice.
To choose joy, change your focus – because where focus goes, energy flows. When you focus on the bad, that is all you see. But when you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears. Practice gratitude every day and you’ll soon know how to be happy without expectations.
5. See life as a journey
Practicing gratitude will help you see life as a winding journey rather than a straight line to a destination. Everything that happens on that journey can teach us something if we let it. When you find the lesson even in the bad things that happen to you, you start to realize that life isn’t happening to you – it’s happening for you. No expectations, no disappointments is the only way to experience everything life has to offer.
Ready to live your life to the fullest?
Learn more about the meaning of no expectations, no disappointments and unlock the life you were meant to live at Unleash the Power Within.