Hope & Expectation

Hope, a power that energizes other emotions, one that blows life in what resides at your deepest core. There is always a single emotion at any person’s core. This emotion might be a positive one or a negative one, the thing that hope does is it blows life into it.

In the times of trouble and peril, which a person faces not so often in life but when he does, it is a decisive moment as it shapes his future, a moment that can either make him or break him, in such moment everyone leaves, everything leaves, every bit of strength mustered for fighting falls apart, when dark clouds darker than the shadow, of negativity gather and blackens the sky, Hope, despite of all the destroying, destructing, devastating, discording, disdaining and dooming things that happen and crush you emotionally and physically, hope, if exists, all gone can come back not immediately but eventually, hope if there, will penetrate the dark clouds and with a single ray, like the sun which brightens the sky again.

So is it a matter of consequence, I say it is a matter of choice to Be hopeful, to not give in whatever the situation is, a great person in one of his speech says “Sometimes we can’t say I am going to make it, but we can always say Its’ possible”! Isn’t that wonderful! the thought of possibility. The thought that something exists which we do not know of and that unknown thing can change the current scenario in ways unfathomable.

The fine line that people almost always tend to overlook and cross is between expectation and hope. Expectations if not fulfilled, brings disappointment,

it is the reason why your parents are angry at you,

it is the reason why your spouse is angry with you,

it is the reason why your relationship is not working,

it is the reason why your boss is always criticizing you

and more importantly it is also the reason why you are feeling the same way about all of them, the feeling of resentment reciprocates. And it is important in certain situations, so by no aspect one can devalue the importance of expectations because it is the one shaping your life.

Your life if viewed with a specific paradigm is nothing more than a question paper in which you are expected to perform.

Every time life throws a situation at you, you are expected to handle it, like the same way when you were a kid, you were expected to follow the word of your parents and teachers,

like the same way when you are at a social function you are expected to behave in a particular way,

like the same way when Indian cricket team is chasing and Virat Kohli comes in to bat, he is expected to deliver,

like the same way when Ronaldo comes on the ground, he is expected to score.

Expectations do shape our life because it creates that pressure sentiment in your mind, we all have those times when we only perform because we are expected to deliver, when things are demanded from us.

Talking about childhood, when a child is grown enough to understand how the social setting works and how to do the daily needful things, one of the key factors for his growth is the expectations that parents put him under. If the child is not expected of to be disciplined, he won’t do it, on the other hand if he is highly expected to be disciplined and scolded every time he does something wrong, that creates hatred and tension in his mind.

So, in a nutshell,

Expectation is like salt…

Too less of it, dish becomes tasteless…

Too much of it, dish becomes inedible…

But just the right amount, dish becomes DELICIOUS!

So, there is some truth in it when one says “You are a result of what is expected from you”.

Maybe Sachin is Sachin because we expected much from him, same might go with you who is reading this right now,

Maybe there are things in your life that you never did because no one expected you to do it and to prove it, you can look back to the things that you did because you were expected to do it and ask yourself “Was I really the cause behind this happening? Or something else or someone else fired me up to do it?”

The last cricket example being not one but two Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith, would they have thought about being top order great batsmen after spinning the ball initially? but down the line it was expected form them both and just look how they delivered.

Expectations in adequate amount leads to motivating a person into doing things he might not have even imagined of doing himself!

But wait a minute,

Who expected Michael Jordan to be this big in the same game for which he was kicked out of high school team? Surely not his fans of future… But only one person, and that was HE HIMSELF.

So, expect a bit from yourself as well, you might be a top order batsman still batting at the tail, who is surely overqualified for the role he is in.

But what if you fail?

What if things don’t work out?

What if you get a duck?

What if you didn’t fulfil your expectations?

What if you didn’t fulfil others’ expectations?

I am not going to say put your hand on your chest and recite “ALL IZZ WELL” because I believe:

Taking the situation lightly & Not letting the situation get the better of you are two different things.

Rather than taking the situation lightly Be Hopeful and try something like, either fixing it or making the better of it.

Unfulfillment of expectations can allow sorrow and frustration to creep inside you, and for not letting that happen Be Hopeful and keep working,

So, Hope,

that something good will definitely happen…

not instantly but eventually,

A ray of hope will never let the mind astray to dark corners,

Be hopeful because something good did happen,

Be hopeful because that good can be repeated,

Be hopeful because that good will be repeated,

not instantly but eventually.

So, what is hope?

A cushion which does not let your morale hit the rock bottom when you fall from expectations.

I hope your cushions are soft, and they are always with you😉.

Written By:

Nihar Mehta