Do you expect things to be hard or do you allow them to be easy? When something goes wrong are you able to step back and imagine a simple solution or do you automatically envision a major problem waiting to be solved Do you expect things to be hard? During a warm, spring day a friend decided to try the air conditioning system in their new home only to discover that it didn’t work.They contacted the company and waited for them to show up three days later to investigate the problem. In the meantime, they found themselves imagining that the unit was defective, that there was a broken line in a wall and that the wall would need to be torn down for the line to be repaired, or that the whole system had been designed improperly. Talk about worst-case. When the repairman finally showed up,he discovered a broken seal on an outside line –a simple repair that took a couple of hours to fix.As he drove out of the driveway, my friend thought, “Why didn’t I even consider an easy solution?” Generally, we tend to be optimistic people. We tend to see the upside of life and are able to look for the positive opportunities in even the most challenging situations. But, many of us have a habit of thinking that we may not be conscious of:- The tendency to expect things to be hard. As we consider this pattern of thinking, we can easily think of other examples. When preparing our taxes, do we ruminate about how long it will take to get them done? Do we imagine days of tiring hard work, only to have it take three or four hours? Or, when we have computer problems, do we expected to lose all of our files, only to have the computer tech not only repair the problem, but improve the performance of the machine. While some may argue for the benefits to considering worst case – being better prepared or better able to handle setbacks, etc. – stewing in a pot of negativity is not productive. When our mind is focused on all that could go wrong or how hard it will be,it’s as if we empower the very outcome we most want to avoid. If you’re about to go through a divorce, for example, and you keep worrying about how contentious or painful it will be,there’s a good chance that you’ll behave in a way that allows for that experience. If, on the other hand, you breathe through your fear and frustration and keep returning your mind to the present moment trusting that all will unfold in perfect order, you’ll have a much better chance of experiencing a smoother ride.
When we expect simple or easy solutions to life’s challenges, we set ourselves up for a more positive experience. We show up with the right frame of mind, we focus on what works instead of what doesn’t, and put ourselves in a more open and receptive state that attracts the people or resources we need to get things handled.
This new awareness will inspire us to change our expectations.