Examples Of Low Expectations

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The phrase “low expectations” usually has a negative connotation. This makes sense, because people have associated low expectations with unhappiness and failure. This is not always the case, however; sometimes having low expectations can be viewed as pleasant and helpful, whereas having high expectations can cause disappointment. Even William Shakespeare once said that expectations are the root of heartache. Lowering expectations can positively impact happiness by changing one’s outlook on life, relieving one’s stress from pursuing goals, relieving stress towards school, and reducing anger or disappointment in people.
First of all, by practicing having low or no expectations one’s outlook on life can be renewed in a positive way. For example,
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Everyone has expectations, some expectations are realistic like getting a good grade on a paper, whereas other expectations are unrealistic. In a study testing people’s expectations with completing tasks, Francis W. Irwin said, “expectations are unrealistic to the extent that they vary with any wants of the individual” (121). If an expectation seems to be unrealistic, then that expectation should be lowered to a realistic one. For example, swimmers achieving perfect form, but they only practiced a handful of times. For swimmers being able to achieve perfect form is a goal, and there is a difference between goals and expectations. Goal is an objective to work towards. Expectations are what someone plans an outcome to be. In a personal interview, an anonymous person said, “I think there is a difference between goals and expectations. I can set a goal and work towards that goal, like getting a B or higher on every test. But having that expectation for myself is unrealistic to reach, because I know there will be things that I will be able to understand completely and things that will be harder for me to grasp.” It is important to set goals, and more important to set low expectations. If someone expects all their goals to be achieved exactly how they want they will be disappointed if they are not, and feel disappointment towards themselves. “I feel like if you have high expectations, you set yourself up to fall down, fail and struggle through life.” (Anonymous). Some goals are unrealistic to achieve, and it can cause a person stress and can cause them to feel disappointment in themselves, this stress can also be correlated with academic

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