Letting Go of the Expectations of Others

 

Ahhh, expectations from other people.  They are SUCH a pain sometimes.  Sometimes they cause us to lose sight of our own personal boundaries.  They can actually be pretty toxic.  So today, I'm going to write about letting go of the expectations of others.

The thing about expectations is that we need to stop hanging on to the idea of what others will think or feel about what we do. 

 

Of course you should be a good person in life and you SHOULD care what people think in that if you're doing horrible things to hurt people - the pain you cause them should be in the front of your mind.  

But that's not the kind of expectations I'm talking about.  Simplifying life does not exclude simplifying expectations from other people.  Choosing to live your life for you is very rewarding.  

 

So what if you decide to forego a large wedding to appease your in-laws and you just do it your own way.  That's YOUR choice.  

 

We tend to do things because we don't want people thinking certain things about us. But what's really so bad about that? 

 

I say no to a lot of things. As an introvert I really love being at home. If I get invited somewhere, I reserve the right to turn it down and I don't owe anyone an explanation.  Who cares if they think I'm weird for not going with them?  I'm happy and it's what I want so why does it matter if they judge me? 

 

Some people think of this as being selfish but there's a fine line between being selfish and being a people pleaser. It can be draining and not good for your overall health and well-being. 

 

If someone wants something to be done a certain way and it's just not possible - let them know that.  Do your best.  Inform that you've done your best. If they still aren't satisfied then you need to realize that's a THEM problem, not a YOU problem.  

 

I live my life how I want to. I don't care if someone says "oh wow, I could never do that" about something because guess what?! I can do that and I'm going to do it.  

 

In order to feel free in life you truly need to let go of worrying about other people's expectations and judgements of you or else you will remain trapped under the spell of pleasing others forever.  It's definitely a mindset change but you can practice it by becoming aware of when you start to feel pressured to do something a certain way for the sole reason of appeasing someone else. 

As soon as that happens, stop and ask yourself if this is going to matter to you or impact you in the future.  If it's not, then it needs to be let go. By doing this regularly it will become more of a habit so that eventually you don't even give the expectations of others a second thought! 

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