My Expectations Of Me, You & Us

“Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

That quote speaks so much, in so few words.  So many times in life we run into people who make grandiose promises and claims. Hell, if you don’t, I do enough for the both of us. It can be really easy to get caught up in the hype of the moment and lose sight of what it actually takes to accomplish all of those promises.  I’ve had my share of promises broken through my life so I’ve become one of those people who doesn’t believe in promises; I believe in actions. Don’t promise me anything. Give me your word and follow through. That’s it.

As I’m constantly disappointed by some people in my life, it serves as a reminder that I need to not disappoint myself. I can’t count on anyone more than I can count on myself. If I continue to let myself down by settling for less than my best and what is best for me, how can I expect others to follow through? Many times, our own acceptance of less than what we know we deserve, whether it be in a romantic relationship, friendship, job or other is the catalyst to our own disappointment. I mean think about it. If you didn’t settle, would you be dealing with the same disappointment?

Many of us (including myself) need to constantly be reminded of our standards. Not only do we need to hold those around us to high standards we need to always remember to hold ourselves to the same. We can’t expect others to support us and follow through on their commitments to us, if we can’t do the same for others and more importantly for ourselves. The same level of respect we expect to receive from others, we need to show ourselves first and foremost. I need to treat myself the way I want to be treated, not except anything but the same from others, and treat others as such in return. That’s not to say that when you aim high, you’re always going to hit high. But like my grama always tells me “shoot for the moon, so if you fall short, you still land amongst the stars.” Don”t just expect others to give you the best, make sure you give yourself the best.

Have you been settling for less?

Related posts:

The Guilt In Being Single My 2011 In Review Forget About The If’s What About The Nows? The Use In An Empty Tube Of Toothpaste