Expectations? A question.

chic

chic

SF VIP
Location
U.S.
Did you/do you have expectations of yourself? Did your family or friends have expectations of you? Did you fulfill your expectations? How far did you get. Are you satisfied?

I do have expectations of myself even now. My family and friends did have expectations of me and still do which can add pressure. I did fulfill a lot of my expectations of myself but not those of others which is something of a disappointment. I didn't get as far as I would have liked but even at my age, I am not done. No I am not satisfied because I believe most of the greatest improvements in civilization have been invented by dissatisfied people.

What do you think?
 

I didn't meet my own expectations, except for some travel and adventure.

The main thing I wanted was a successful relationship. That was a fail. Since that dream is dead, I don't see how I can ever be really satisfied.

I didn't meet the expectations of my romantic partners, that's obvious. My daughter has expectations of how I should be, and I don't meet them either.

My siblings seem happy with me.

I've worked hard at adjusting my expectations, and filling my life with semi-satisfying activities. But even the yearning seems like a burden. Maybe someday I'll just be satisfied with eating and sleeping.
 

I’m not sure how my parents and friends thought about my expectations on getting married aged 18 and having 2 sons by the age of 21
They never realised how strong I was and neither did I !!
But I knew where I was going and like @Alligatorob Im pretty happy and satisfied where I ended up x
 
Pepper said:
I didn't live up to my potential. It was sex, drugs & rock & roll instead.
Click to expand...
You and my dear husband, @Pepper. ♥

Well, I mean, he's an amazing human being, a wonderful man and fully lived up to his potential as a human, yes, but the sex, drugs and rock & roll thing he was all up in before we met. You guys could probably share some stories.

I've a feeling you lived up to more than you might think.
 
The only expectations I ever had for myself was to treat others fairly and with respect, as I expect others to do as well. I've always tried to let that guide me in life, probably not always successfully but I keep trying.

What expectations others may have had for me I'm not aware of any and besides, those would not have mattered to me in any case. Those would be their expectations; not mine.
 
My family never thought I'd amount to anything, so I've achieved more than that! :ROFLMAO:

Of course, my parents never achieved anything other than procreating and they thought that they were better than me, so that explains it.

As a kid, I always knew somehow that I'd go to college and become an engineer. I have no idea where that ambition came from, but I always felt that it was my destiny... maybe because math came easy to me and I was interested in mechanical design and how things worked.

When I was maybe 18 or 19, during my stoner and heavy drinking days, I was working at a gas station. One day, the mechanic there came up to me and told me, "You're never going to be anything." Without looking at him, I said, "So, neither are you." He got really pissed off and stormed off. He felt successful being a mechanic but I looked at that as a loser occupation.

My father was a mechanic, although not a car mechanic, and he barely made enough to pay for a one bedroom apartment. Although I did become a mechanic in my 20s, I knew that wasn't what I wanted to be doing when I was in my 40s.

I was 38 when I finally completed my Bachelor's degree and became an engineer, although not a mechanical engineer, which was what I thought I'd do. I wound up studying computer science, instead.
 
chic said:
Did you/do you have expectations of yourself? Did your family or friends have expectations of you? Did you fulfill your expectations? How far did you get. Are you satisfied?

I do have expectations of myself even now. My family and friends did have expectations of me and still do which can add pressure. I did fulfill a lot of my expectations of myself but not those of others which is something of a disappointment. I didn't get as far as I would have liked but even at my age, I am not done. No I am not satisfied because I believe most of the greatest improvements in civilization have been invented by dissatisfied people.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
Great questions, @chic! My family had no expectations of me other than for me to get married and have a family. When I was in high school, I had enormous expectations to go to college, and get a Ph.D. I don't know where those expectations came from. Maybe it was the good grades - I had been a good student all my life. Or maybe it was from all that reading I did. I was always striving to do better, no matter what the topic was, whether scholastics, poetry, music, or sports. When I received a scholarship to attend college and study biology, I continued that dream, but life got in the way. I worked in the healthcare industry after graduating from college, and instead of going for my Master's, I fell in love and got married and raised my son. Being married and having a family was wonderful! So my expectations had switched to relationship rather than career goals.

In the past decade, after experiencing bouts of illness and several family deaths, I've had to pick myself back up and resume that "treadmill of expectations." I got my MFA in my 50s and my PhD in my 60s. I still have expectations, but have had to tamp down quite a few because my body has its own expectations, lol!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top