I can remember when I was a teen having the distinct feeling of utter disappointment…all the time.
When I’d have plans with friends to go to a party…that ended up being a flop.
Or to go to LA for an adventure…that turned out pretty boring after all.
Or to kick it at home with friends…that had to cancel last minute because of other responsibilities.
It felt like disappointment after disappointment.
Like I’d get my hopes up, feel full of anticipation…and be totally attached to a particular outcome for my experience.
It was that attachment to the outcome that left me feeling empty + hurt + so frickin’ sad time and time again.
Until one night as I was getting ready to head out with friends, my mom encouraged me to try something different.
{Oh I’ve got so much appreciation for my sweet mama, she’s always been so supportive…only now can I start to understand how heart breaking it must have been for her to see me so disappointed so often!}.
My mom inspired me with her wisdom…and thankfully I was willing to listen.
She said, “What if you decide to have fun no matter what when you go out tonight?”
Somehow it was perfect timing + I was ready to hear her advice.
And it totally worked. I started choosing fun + ease + joy regardless of the outcome.
My life got much more interesting + I felt so much happier…empowered to choose how I respond + to appreciate the experience no matter what.
So I felt like I learned my lesson, and I did in many ways.
But the things that are the most challenging for us often come back again to be relearned…or to be integrated on a deeper level.
My realization as a teen to let go of expectation and surrender the outcome definitely improved my life…and it’s a lesson I’ve been given opportunity to learn again and again since my adolescent years.
One of my most vivid recent experiences of gripping too fiercely to control the outcome was during the birth of my first daughter {back in 2005…whoa, sometimes it’s hard to believe I’ve been a mama for nine years!}.
That need to control, the rigid expectations, and the massive disappointment when I learned that I cannot control everything was another huge turning point in my life.
I’d love for you to read about my Expectation Hangover + how I’ve learned to trust + surrender.
My amazing mentor, Christine Hassler, just published her inspiring new book, Expectation Hangover this week…and my story is in it!
When I wrote my birth story + how I healed from my own very intense + overwhelming Expectation Hangover, my eyes were running over with tears of guilt + sadness + forgiveness + release.
It felt so freeing to finally tell my story + learn {yet again} that life is so much sweeter when I make my wishes + dream my dreams…and surrender the outcome.
When I trust my journey, happiness + love flow with ease.
If you’d like to read more about my own Expectation Hangover + Christine’s wise guidance about how to release your own, I encourage you to grab your copy here.
Here’s to living life free from our own limiting expectations + the heart breaking disappointment that comes from being overly attached to a certain outcome.
May we live + thrive in hope + love…free to learn + grow.
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