Letting Go of Expectations

This afternoon I was tagged by Robyn McMaster for the "Think Different Challenge"

One of the things I have to continually work on is eliminating expectations. As far as I'm concerned, having expectations is like making a judgment before the fact and doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense to me. So why do we have expectations? Is it wishes? Dreams? Anticipation?

Regardless, I recognize I have expectations and, when I drop them and no longer let them have any power over me in any way, I'm usually pleasantly surprised.

So when it comes to expecting someone to call, to care, to engage, to act the way I might in a specific circumstance, I challenge myself to think differently....to let go of all expectations which takes others' monkeys off my back, gives others the freedom to act from a position of their values and integrity (or not) and for me to live in alignment with mine at the same time, regardless of what others do.

Whew! Freeing!

Thanks for the reminder Robyn!

The Challenge...

The Think Different Challenge is all about finding something in your life you currently have negative thoughts or feelings toward (eg work or your mother-in-law), and deciding to look at it differently. It is about realizing that some things are just a part of life, so we may as well try to find the positives in them.

The rules for this writing project are:

1. Write a new blog post in which you “think different”. Follow my suggestions above, or be a bit different and interpret the challenge the way you want .


2. State that the post is a part of the Think Different Challenge and include a link and/ or trackback to this post so that readers know the rules of the challenge. Feel free to use the above banner (inspired, of course, by Seth Godin).


3. Include a link and/ or trackback to the blogger who tagged you.


4. At the end of your post, go ahead and tag some fellow bloggers. Don’t forget to email them to let them know they have been tagged.


5. That’s it! Just sit back and enjoy reading peoples’ responses to the challenge.

So to keep this going, I Tag:

Donna Steinhorn from Rethinking
Steve Harper from the Ripple Effect
Phil Johnson from Master of Business Leadership
John Lazar from Leading Edge of Leadership
Alexander Kjerulf aka The Chief Happiness Officer
Joe Raasch from The Happy Burro
Prince Rahman at MagnumVox Leadership

If you weren’t tagged, but would like to participate, please go ahead and write a post that fits in with the challenge. Thanks for playing!

Best...
Donna Karlin