If you expect things to be difficult, they will be. In fact, you’ll look for “proof” to support your belief that life is difficult. If you expect miracles to happen in your life, you’ll look for “proof” to support that believe. Which expectation will cause you to improve the quality of your life? Which expectation will keep you stuck in a dead-end job or a demoralizing personal relationship? What will your life be like if you believe you’re too old or set in your ways to change? What would your life be like if you believe that you’ll always succeed because you’ll learn something from everything you experience? Expect the best from yourself and that’s what you’ll get. Expect the worse... The choice is yours.

It is easy to change your expectations, in fact you can do it in an instant, and that can be a problem. Too often, we lower our expectations because that is easier than overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of fulfilling those expectations.

Are you being forced to lower your expectations, or are you simply choosing the easy way out? You must expect the best in order to achieve the best, yet it takes more than just expectation. It takes effort and commitment. If you lower your expectations at the first sign of difficulty, it seriously erodes their value.

Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.