The more I think about it and the older I get, (I guess wisdom really does come with age. Or maybe it’s just the pandemic and the fact that we’ve all pretty much been alone with our thoughts for the past 730 days…but, who’s counting?) the more I start to realize that life’s disappointments are a mere reflection of the expectations we have built up to them.
Regardless of circumstances, having some form, any form of expectations for how certain situations will pan out, is simply part of our human nature.
But, when you think about it, the best moments in life catch you off guard and often turn out nothing like the way you expected them in the first place.
So, why is it so hard to just let go and let things be?
In simpler terms, have you ever looked forward to something for days, weeks, even months? And along the way, you inevitably imagined what that would look like? What it would feel like? What would go right? What would go wrong? You’ve pictured it a few different ways. Regardless of the complexity of how you pictured it, you did. At least once. And that’s precisely where a window of opportunity turns into a self-inflicted window of disappointment. Why? Because you created expectations. And if they don’t end up panning out the way you imagined, it’ll ultimately lead to a form of disappointment. And that’s no one’s fault but your own.
While it can definitely be challenging, to say the least, the solution to dodge disappointment in life is to be present. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong.
It’s difficult. Especially if you’re someone who is notorious for overthinking and tends to mentally prepare yourself for various different scenarios as a result. Guilty.
But you can work towards it.
So, here’s your reminder for the day, or month, or whenever I come back, to try and let go and let things be.
It won’t always be easy, but it’ll help you be a happier person in the long run.
Over the past few years of keeping this blog alive with my on-again, off-again thoughts from the heart, I’ve somehow racked up roughly 15K visitors and 20K views. I will still never understand where and when and how my readers have resonated with my words, but somehow, they have.
Thanks for hanging in there.
L