Expectations

My disappointments are equal to my expectations.

I saw that if I were to wait for all the other people to shape up, I was going to get drunk and stay drunk a long, long time.  I saw that all the things I had considered, were not facts at all, but my own thoughts.  And this was very fortunate, because I could do something about changing my thoughts but nothing about changing the people around me.

W I S D O M = When Into Self, Discover Our Motives.

Who do your serve?

Do you want the full and complete satisfaction that you find in serving God and all the satisfactions of the world also?

It is not easy to serve both God and the world.

It is difficult to claim the rewards of both.

If you work for God, you will still have great rewards in the world.

But you must be prepared to sometimes stand apart from the world.

You cannot always turn to the world and expect all the rewards which life has to offer.

If you are trying sincerely to serve God, you will have other and greater rewards than the world as to offer.

I pray that I may not expect too much from the world.

I pray that I may also be content with the rewards that come from serving God.

Expectations

Higher Power, help me stop expecting so much from myself. 

I set unrealistic standards, and when they are not met, unhappiness follows. 

Help me be true to myself and only expect what I am capable of doing. As I grow in recovery and do my assignments every day, I am able to do more. 

Your will provides realistic goals. Your will provides what I need to succeed.  Amen.
 

The 12 Step Prayer Book Volume 2 

by Bill P. and Lisa D. 

  

Good Is Good Enough

May I not set my sights unrealistically high, expect too much.

May I look backwards long enough to see that my self-set, impossible goals were the trappings of my addiction; too often I ended up halfway there, confronted by my own failure.

Those "foiled-again," "I've-failed-again" feelings became monumental excuses to give in to my compulsion, which blanketed my miseries.

May I avoid that sick old pattern.

May I be realistic.  Amen.

Formula For Failure

I cannot give you the formula for success, 

but I can give you the formula for failure - 

try to please everybody. 

Herbert Bayard Swope

Surprise

Expect nothing.

Live frugally on surprise.

Alice Walker

Unexpected Gifts

As life becomes harder and more threatening,

it also becomes richer,

because the fewer expectations we have,

the more good things of life become

unexpected gifts that we accept with gratitude.

Etty Hillesum

An Interrupted Life

Creating Problems

Any kind of expectation creates a problem.

We should accept, but not expect.

Whatever comes, accept it.

Whatever goes, accept it.

The immediate benefit is that
your mind is always peaceful.
Sri Swami Satchidananda

Unrealistic & Unhealthy Expectations

In order to by happy, some expectations must be dropped.
These unrealistic and unhealthy expectations are three of the main culprits.

1. Do not EXPECT apprciation. When others say, "Thank you," or in any way shoe their gratitude, be happy. It is a gift!

2. Do not EXPECT others to make you happy. They simply cannot do that. Make yourself happy and share your joy with others.

3. Do not expect NOT to be let down. At times, people will simply not come through for you in the way you need. Forgive them and move on.

Get rid of these three expectations and you will be getting rid of daily disappointment!

Letting Go Of My Expectations

In order to arrive at possessing everything,

desire to possess nothing.

- St. John of the Cross

Expectations can cause havoc in my daily living.
I have a basic right to be treated with dignity and respect,
but that doesn't mean life will always go my way.
The twists and turns of life often carry me
up rivers of disappointment to shores I never chose to visit.
Facing life as a fully involved traveler,
without expectations about outcomes,
is perhaps the brightest way to travel.
It has been said that there is a direct proportion between
my level of expectation and the amount of stress I have in my lives.
Trusting the results to a larger plan allows
me to relax and enjoy the adventure of the journey.
I am more peaceful and confident, less frantic and controlling.
Trusting that my Higher Power will protect me,
no matter what I encounter on my journey,
helps me face the future with a calm and loving heart.

#@#@#@#

A Different Day

Every day is a different day.

You never know what it will bring.

That's the exciting thing about getting up every morning.

-- Alpha English

Let me remember that most days surprised me with their outcomes.
I never got exactly what I expected.
This is one certainty about life that I can always count on.

Today is bound to surprise me in how it unfolds.
I'll appreciate what comes my way.

Life Is Not Fair

Life guarantees a chance - not a fair shake.

--Bernie Y.

Life is not fair.
Most of us know that, but few of us accept it.

But life is like soil, not like seed.
The chance of a harvest is there, but only if I plant the seed.
And even then I may not get the harvest I expected or wished for - not on my own timetable.
It is an act of faith, and of great courage, to keep on sowing seeds when I don't know what I am going to get.
But it's the only chance I have.
I need to stop expecting the soil to provide the seed.

Today, I will be grateful to be alive.

This day offers a chance for a fuller life, and I

will accept what comes of my efforts.

A Rose

Each day can be like a rose unfurling according to the plan of a Power greater than myself.
Each stage of the petals' unfolding can bring wonder and delight if I do not interfere or let my expectations override my acceptance -- and this brings serenity.

Disappointments

My disappointments are equal to my expectations.

Disappointments = Expectations

My disappointments are equal to my expectations.