- Notes to Myself
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- Expectations
Expectations
The only 2 questions that matter
What expectations do I have for myself?
What’s the standard to which I hold myself?
My priorities have changed at each stage of my life
Year-to-year
Month-to-month
Day-to-day
The only piece of wisdom I'll stand behind:
"This too shall change"
Other people constantly adjust their expectations of me as well
Layering on their own interpretations of my growth, my skills, my position
So, amidst all of these changes
How do I know what to do?
How do I know how I'm doing?
What's the measure of success?
How do I adjust to these changing expectations?
My tactic is to consistently reorient around the only 2 questions that matter:
Am I living aligned with my True Self?
Am I doing my best?
Unfortunately, the answers will not remain static
The precise moment I exceed expectations
The goalposts shift
The situation changes
It's different now
Because I've exceeded expectations
Now, I've defined a new "best"
I've progressed past my previously perceived limits
I’ve pushed to a new frontier
An allusion to the Tom Sachs phrase:
"The reward for good work is more work."
Granted, today's "peak performance" ought not to be the expectation every day
After all, my energy, body, & environment will also change daily
So the standard set yesterday is already outdated
For better or worse, the previous expectation always has an expiration
Thus, all I can do in this moment is ask myself those 2 simple questions:
Am I living aligned with my True Self?
Am I doing my best?
All I can do is ask & answer with absolute honesty
Then… let all other forms of expectation just fall away
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