Hello dear friends and readers and Happy Valentine's Day to you if you are reading today on the day of posting, whatever your relationship status may be. And that's that out of the way. I write these posts infrequently, usually when some kind of "inspiration" strikes me, by something I read or something someone said. Earlier today I was chatting to a friend who went to the movie "The Black Swan" yesterday. I haven't seen it myself yet, so asked how it was and ... he didn't like it. According to him it was very dark and not at all what he had expected, he couldn't wait for it to end. Fair enough, I've heard very different opinions about it and as I said I haven't seen it myself yet, so don't expect me to tell you (or anyone for that matter). In addition we all have different tastes. We have the right to like or dislike something. How boring would the world be if we all liked the same kind of book, movie, clothes, food, everything ... ?
The interesting thing was that he didn't recommend not to see it - "Just don't have your expectations too high!". What are expectations anyhow and where do we get them from? And are they useful?
Looking at the origin, the Latin verb "expectare" from which we get "to expect" we are actually waiting for something to happen. What is this we expect, we wait for, based on though? It may be based on experience (yes, I expect the sun to rise tomorrow too as it has done for zillions of years), oftentimes on assumptions whether fact-based or not and - quite often - other peoples' opinions (based on their experience and assumptions)? Somehow not all of this sounds convincingly reliable to me.
There is also another side to it. With low expectations you are less likely to be disappointed - you didn't "expect" it to work out anyhow. If this relates to a task you perform you probably won't get very far because you didn't aim too high in the first place. With high expectations on the other hand, even though the risk of "it not living up to expectations" is higher, however generally the end result will be better.
Ok, back to the movie you haven't seen. What do you base your expectations on? The reviews? Your friends' and colleagues' opinions? Your liking of the main actor/actress? How about replacing "expectation" with curiosity. Hmmm ... a new movie with (insert favourite actor/actress here) ... I wonder what that is like. My next-door neighbour said his cousin had seen it and thought it was crap. I wonder what I'll think of it. Oh, it's up for umpteen oscars, it must be good. Am I weird if I turn out NOT to like it? Don't worry! It's not about expecting a lot or a little or nothing at all - it's about being curious ... not only about a movie, but about how life will unfold.
Have a great week!
Hugs,
Mel
