How to Have a High Expectation for Life

Developing a high expectation for life may require you to realign your focus. If you look for the negative, you start to see only the bad in life. When you keep a positive outlook in mind, that is what begins to emerge in the world around you. It's like when you buy a yellow car, then suddenly notice how many yellow cars there are in your town. The colors of the cars around you didn't change, your perspective did.



Outline what a high expectation means for you personally, then aim high, but be willing to compromise. Expect success and achievement, and set out to make that happen by taking small steps toward your goal.

Instructions

• 1

  Formulate a plan. A plan will help you keep your goals fresh in your mind and provide you specific steps toward reaching them. Set deadlines for smaller goals along the way. The more often you succeed, the more confidence you'll have for the next step.

• 2

  Provide your own motivation. Start expecting the best and inwardly encouraging yourself. To find new tools to implement this strategy, consider the people whose lives you find remarkable or inspiring. Investigate the lives of these people, and study what they did to make it to where they are today. Make notes and implement some of their strategies in your own life.

• 3

  Have realistic expectations of both yourself and others. If you lower your standards or stop expecting people to perform to a set or subjective standard, you will begin to see the frustration that comes with unmet expectations dissipate. This is particularly helpful if you tend to strive for perfection. Do your best, but accept that even if you try and fail, at least you tried. Learn from the experience and move forward.

• 4

  Keep positive thoughts. Negative thinking very easily slips into people's daily routines and, over time, it can build to strongly influence how you feel and act. Work to replace negative reactions and inner dialogue with more helpful, positive thoughts. These may be as simple as "this too shall pass" or very specific, individually-focused affirmations meant to subtly influence you toward a goal or a new outlook.

• 5

  Read inspirational stories. The news is often full of the world's worst, most traumatic events. Instead of immersing yourself in a program that describes negative actions and events, create a positive news source for yourself by seeking out uplifting and awe-inspiring stories that cover happy events and heroic individual actions. This will help increase your well-being, lower your stress and may help motivate you.

• 6

  Explore your spiritual side. This will help you see through day-to-day hassles and allow you to develop a larger perspective on your problems. Regular meditation or the study of writings that have inspired the major religions of the world may guide you in refocusing your thoughts and feelings.

• 7

  Turn your focus toward others. For nearly everyone in a less-than-ideal situation, there is someone else in the world facing worse. By doing what you can to help another person, you create a small amount of good in the world, and you may benefit by feeling better about yourself and your own circumstances. Knowing there are people such as yourself working toward bettering circumstances for others may help you feel less alone and raise your own expectations for life.