Expectation Management!

Last year the boys and I used Space a travel to get to the mainland for our Epic Summer Vacation.
The whole process of trying to hop on a free military flight was a bit stressful for me!
Only a 3day window of flights that can change at a moments notice, never sure if you will make the flight, having to be open to multiple destinations was all so crazy.

Jared got us the permission slip to travel without him. The boys and I were finally 'ready' to start trying to win our seats for the mainland. We were open to any spot in CA or WA and would just try to see all we wanted from wherever we landed.
We kept hearing that it was very hard to get the seats and you wouldn't know if you got it or not until after you have arrived and checked in at the terminal with all your luggage.

Rejected you just walk away and try again another day, accepted you hop on that flight and zoom off.

Well, we went to get our names on the list beginning of June. We were so excited!
All smiles at the prospect that sometime this month we would see family and possibly Harry Potter world!
And it was great just being able to find the place and learning how close to our house it was! Boy were we feeling positive about getting our flights!

The ticket agent was not as excited as we were. He looked at our happy faces and probably saw all the hours of frustrated travelers who have been turned away and took it out on the military staff.
He typed us into the system and when I asked him if there was anything else I needed besides the letter, our luggage, & IDs he looked me in the eyes and said "Expectation Management"

"What?"
He repeated with tired patience "Expectation Management"
Uhm, Ok, thanks I said then we left with a bounce in our step and a thrill that we were one step closer to our Epic Summer Vacation!

Turned out we caught our first flight, but it was delayed at least 5 hrs. The trip had its amazing ups and a few downs as many family vacations do. It was a dream summer though and I now know that Space A flights are a way to travel without having to pay for plane tickets, but nothing is truly free and I prefer commercial travel!

Back to Expectation Management.

I think of that phrase often.

This weekend I was pondering over anxiety and the pressure we put on ourselves. How do we overcome the strain we place upon ourselves that no one else can see? How do we meet our responsibilities when we wrap our mind up in failure? How do we help others when they struggle with thoughts and feelings we can't see or even know they are struggling with because all we see  is the outside, what they allow us to see?

This quote from Thomas S. Monson is excellent:

"Sometimes...you feel inadequate and ineffective because you can't do all that you feel you should. Rather than continually dwelling on what still needs to be done, pause occasionally and reflect on all that you do and have done. It is most significant"

So true! How often do we make the laundry lists of didn't, supposed to, could have, should have, failed to, if only?
When all along, when we were making mistakes, we were also doing good things, accomplishing goals, meeting responsibilities?

We have expectations that we put on ourselves, on our loved ones, on ideas, on goals, on life.
Sometimes its easy to think that all those expectations need to be met and they become our reality. And when life doesn't meet our 'reality' we feel disappointed, anxiety, like we failed or someone else failed.

So Expectation Management.
Readjust the focus of our thoughts. Don't let perceived notions become our personal failures because that can hold us back on the true joys and successes of life.