Reverb 10 - Day 5

Let Go - What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

This year I have finally let go of my expectations.

Now, I'm not saying that having expectations is wrong, but the way that I used expectations in how I lived my life, they are. I am someone that used to set expectations for everyone and everything so high that it is almost impossible for anyone or anything to match up to what I want them to be. This has made for some very big letdowns in my life. But these letdowns are not because someone or something wasn't all that it could be...they usually were. It was MY fault that they were "letdowns." In my mind I had set things to such a high standard, that even if I had completed the task it would not have been even close to what I had imagined.

So, this year I made the concerted effort to stop having these expectations and it helped me to see and appreciate others for who and what they really were. I was able to finally love the people around me for who they are, not what I wanted or expected them to be. By doing this I was also able to appreciate events and goings on in my life without a constant big check-list going on in my mind. If I took my son to something that I was really excited for him to experience and he didn't like it, I didn't let it get me down. If our vacation had a few hiccups along the way, I didn't let it destroy all of my memories for the trip, nor did I let those few hiccups overshadow the rest of the trip. I have finally begun to enjoy life and all that it has to offer me.

Letting go of my expectations was one of the best things that I have ever done and I am so glad that I did it!