Reality Check

Expectation is the root of all heartache.  William Shakespeare

Have you experienced this?  I have.  I have expectations of myself, of others because of myself, of others because of their title or position, on me from others.  And expectations let us down every time.  Why?  Because they are set so high that we fall terribly hard.  Even when we say, "I have no expectations" we usually do, they may be unknown to us at the time but they always make their presence known at some point; usually when they are disappointed.  I don't know about you but expectations disappointed usually do bring me heartache of some sort. 
So what to do?  Well the obvious answer is don't have expectations!  :)  But as I said above we usually do even if we don't think we do!  So what to do really?  Recognize when you have an expectation and address it.  Give it a good shot of reality.  Often I have to give myself a reality check when I am aware of an expectation that is about to be disappointed or has been.  A good dose of reality goes a long way in avoiding the heartache of expectations.