Are You Exceeding Everyone’s Expectations?

by Christy Burke

Well, are you? Are you doing everything you can to make sure those around you are completely happy with their lives? Do you feel like a big disappointment when you just can’t get it right?

Oh my goodness! I hope not. I recently read a quote by Apple founder Steve Jobs that really resonated with me:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Amazing, huh? When you stop living to please everybody else, and begin to base your decisions on whether or not it is the best thing for you and your family, only then can you truly begin living.

It took me a long time to figure this one out. I have always been afraid of disappointing others, and so I’ve lived my life making sure that did not happen. And…I was not always happy. Something was missing. I have learned, that in order to experience extreme levels of happiness each day, I need to be true to myself. And, that means that sometimes I will disappoint. Sometimes someone else will not be happy with the decisions I’ve made, and that’s okay.  

Only when you start living the way you want to live, will you experience extreme levels of happiness in your daily life. This does not mean that you shouldn’t take the feelings and opinions of others into account. No, not at all. What it does mean, is that now you weigh out any advice you are given with what is in your heart.

Yes, you will make mistakes along the way. But, that’s okay. We can learn great lessons from our mistakes. But, when are you going to stop living up to everyone else’s expectations, so that you can live how you truly want to live?

Sometimes the way that other people do things works very well for their lives, so they think it will work in your life as well. But, you are a different person. If you live your life according to how everyone else lives theirs, you will never be happy. You need to establish your own rules for yourself and your family. Yes, you may end up disappointing a few people. Get over it! Quit trying to please everyone else all of the time. You can’t possibly do it, and why would you want to?

If you’re a parent, the way you raise your children may be completely different from the way your friends or siblings raise theirs. There is no right way to parent. There is no single way to raise a family. When you approach each situation from a place of love, you are always going to do what you think is best for your family. It is not right or wrong, it’s what works best for you at that time. The outcome might not always turn out the way you expect it to, but that’s how we learn. That is what makes us better parents.

Is there anything in your life that you’ve been wanting to do? Do it now! Is there anything that you’ve been wanting to change? Change it now!  Make the decision to create a happier life, based on what you want to do. Whether you want to move out of state, change careers, go back to school, have another child…you need to do what you know in your heart is right for you. Is there a something that you’ve been wanting to pursue, but you’ve been putting it off because you’re afraid of what everyone else will think? Do it now! Follow your heart. Make your dreams come true. Everything else is secondary.

Read more Positive Thoughts here.