Comments on: Un-Great Expectations. http://photodork.org/2010/06/21/un-great-expectations/ The Adventures and Ramblings of a Photodork Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:18:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Photodork http://photodork.org/2010/06/21/un-great-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-26360 Photodork Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:55:16 +0000 http://photodork.org/?p=287#comment-26360 Very nicely said. I think gratitude was the word I was looking for when I came to the second part of my query: appreciating what others are willing to do. We focus so much on what they aren't, that we miss the fact that they just did a great deal for us, even if it they didn't hit every last item on our checklist for them. I've gone well out of my way for a few people lately, only to find them irritated with me for not doing more, which is what got me thinking about all this. It's not that I expected (there's that word again) loads of gratitude from them for what I did, but I certainly wasn't pleased to receive irritation for my efforts. Of course, this made me re-examine my own behavior. We're never innocent of the things that annoy us. I like the idea of meditating on gratitude. I'm going to try that. Thanks for offering your thoughts. Very nicely said. I think gratitude was the word I was looking for when I came to the second part of my query: appreciating what others are willing to do. We focus so much on what they aren’t, that we miss the fact that they just did a great deal for us, even if it they didn’t hit every last item on our checklist for them. I’ve gone well out of my way for a few people lately, only to find them irritated with me for not doing more, which is what got me thinking about all this. It’s not that I expected (there’s that word again) loads of gratitude from them for what I did, but I certainly wasn’t pleased to receive irritation for my efforts. Of course, this made me re-examine my own behavior. We’re never innocent of the things that annoy us. I like the idea of meditating on gratitude. I’m going to try that. Thanks for offering your thoughts.

]]> By: Matylda http://photodork.org/2010/06/21/un-great-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-26357 Matylda Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:08:32 +0000 http://photodork.org/?p=287#comment-26357 Beautiful post - thank you for that. I think gratitude plays a large role in fighting negative emotions associated with expectations. Trying not to expect is like saying "don't think of an elephant," which then, of course, becomes the only think you can think of. Meditating on gratitude for things you didn't expect, I find, flips the experience of expectations upside-down so you can focus on the delight that accompanies them being exceeded rather than the disappointment of them not being met. The example I thought of while reading your post was a my hunt for laundry detergent today. I was looking for a small-sized bottle, but most stores only sold fancy varieties in small bottles, for $8. On a whim, I stopped by a grocery store and found generic brand in small bottles on sale for $2. It was a ridiculously good deal that greatly exceeded my expectations. As mundane of a celebration as it was, I indulged in the gratitude I felt for stumbling upon that deal, and doing that really put me in a good mood. Gratitude can be a very powerful emotion. Beautiful post – thank you for that. I think gratitude plays a large role in fighting negative emotions associated with expectations. Trying not to expect is like saying “don’t think of an elephant,” which then, of course, becomes the only think you can think of. Meditating on gratitude for things you didn’t expect, I find, flips the experience of expectations upside-down so you can focus on the delight that accompanies them being exceeded rather than the disappointment of them not being met.

The example I thought of while reading your post was a my hunt for laundry detergent today. I was looking for a small-sized bottle, but most stores only sold fancy varieties in small bottles, for $8. On a whim, I stopped by a grocery store and found generic brand in small bottles on sale for $2. It was a ridiculously good deal that greatly exceeded my expectations. As mundane of a celebration as it was, I indulged in the gratitude I felt for stumbling upon that deal, and doing that really put me in a good mood. Gratitude can be a very powerful emotion.

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