Hope v. Expectation

Today’s View From On The Shore

Do you expect things of yourself? Of others?

Are there certain areas of your life where expectations are high, and others where they are low? Where do these expectations come from? What purpose do they serve? Do they help you or hurt you?

There are many quotes about expectations. For example, this one.

“If you expect nothing from anybody, you’re never disappointed.”  ― Sylvia Plath

While it may be true, it is also very sad.

Here is another one from a very different writer.

“Expectation is the root of all heartache." ― William Shakespeare

So if we follow the thinking laid out by these writers, should we go through life with no expectations? We may be eliminating all disappointment and heartache but are we also missing out. Are all expectations truly bad? Perhaps the issue is what we do with the expectation — holding on to the picture in our head of how it is supposed to be, the outcome that is supposed to occur. Maybe it is the “supposed to” that gets us in trouble. Maybe there is a middle ground. A place that expectation ends and hope begins.

Hope is different from expectation because it is less the assumption that something is actually going to happen, but rather the wish that it might. Hope is an optimistic state of mind. Hope is the emotion of the beginner’s mind. With hope there is possibility and promise.

Which approach do you take? Is it one of expectation or hope?