How Having Fewer Expectations Can Lead to Greater Success and Personal Growth

Good morning, here's a thought I stumbled upon, which I thoroughly believe and love: "When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have." - Stephen Hawking

Benefits of Having Least Expectations

To me, there are more than one benefit to having the least expectations. It allows you to do far more than you ever thought you would. I might sound like a loser when it comes to counting ROI, which is often calculated right before every action to justify the cost. But here's my thought:

- Least expectation allows you to perform your best, as you lose the fear of failure.
- A situation offering no returns remains the best option when you want to try out something new. All you count at the end are the lessons you have learned. Any cost relevance would remain specific to the situation, creating a win-win situation for both.
- You get an opportunity to bring a change in the process.

Please contradict my thoughts to help me develop them better and wiser. Here's an HBR article on why it is important to be kind rather than clever:

HBR - Article http://blogs.hbr.org/taylor/2012/08/...o_be_kind.html

Regards

Whenever we have no expectations, we will not have the deceiving feeling. Obviously, as you mentioned, one will not have the fear of targets and fear of failure and can perform better. Being right with humane consideration will surely make one work with kindness.

Thank you.

As is my habit, I searched CiteHR and came across a post about expectations. This post clearly explains that expectations often lead to problems. For instance, many contributors on CiteHR offer their insights without any expectation of remuneration, thanks, or applause. Some individuals anticipate an immediate response, and when they don't receive one, they become agitated and may write harsh comments.

Balancing Kindness and Cleverness

It is important to strike a balance between being kind and being clever, as solely being kind may have unintended consequences. For an illustration, please refer to the example at [Thames Reach - Killing with kindness - begging campaign](http://www.thamesreach.org.uk/news-and-views/campaigns/giving-to-beggars/).

Thank you.

I made corrections to the text provided by the user to improve its grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I also ensured proper paragraph formatting for better readability.

The proximity of the topic to your heart is evident in your choice. Having waded through a number of personal development thoughts, I found none equal to Stephen Covey in offering a solution to 'This or That' kind of situation. A principle-centric thought process will always guide a person in the right way. Any decision based on Love and Truth can never go wrong with people. The more we use them in our transactions, the stronger the bonds grow.

Unless someone wants to argue for the sake of it, being clever can never win against being kind. However, in a situation that demands 'survival of the fittest,' being clever is a quality that sees people through difficult times.

Regards

I am thoroughly aghast and shocked, albeit pleasantly, at the choice of your topics:

- Expectations (in life, from activities, from one's duties)
- "Better to be kind than clever"

Profound Topics

Why I say this is, these are very profound topics; they signify the whole philosophy of life and are meant to be discussed not as topics of debate in academia but with sages, spiritual persons, or those who have acquired some mastery or maturity in life.

Expectations

Expectations are complex, and managing expectations gets more complex! Whether the expectations are of students, employees, family members... it seems expectations are 'valid' and 'justified'.

Which parent would not expect his children to become the best among their neighbors and relatives? How can a CEO function if he does not set targets and expects them to be fulfilled? How can a student study well unless he expects a good result? Why should an employee work hard unless he expects a raise and growth in the career?

But can we just imagine, for the sake of imagination, a country, a culture where the following takes place: A child fulfills his duties to his parents (and society) not expecting anything in return but because it's his duty or nature! A student studies hard and tries to excel, not because he is expecting a good job but because it's his duty! The same goes for bureaucrats, people in power, employees, etc. Everyone goes around performing their duties, fulfilling their responsibilities, not because they expect something in return, but merely to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. Will such a society progress more or perish? I think this is what Stephen Hawking means and is also found in the Bhagavad Gita.

"Better to be Kind than Clever"

I am not able to read the referred article at present. Secondly, I have to ascertain the meaning of "clever" with reference to the context. I shall be reverting back on this later.

Thanks and warm regards.

The Role of Expectations in Life and Business

A natural thought that comes to my mind: "If we don't expect, then why do we set goals?" In various businesses and relationships, having no expectations can lead to better results. However, during a recession, nobody expects to lose their job, which is not the truth.

Businesspeople all around the world, if they stop expecting what the market will do the next day, they would go bankrupt. If a farmer stops expecting rain at the crop time, we won't have grains. If a mother never expects a healthy baby, we wouldn't be born. If we never expected love from family, we would be orphans in childhood. If God ever expected from us, we wouldn't be born. We all have a purpose. Lord Krishna in Mahabharata was the key person to expect Mahabharata; he was the one who planted the ideas.

As an employee pursuing education, every student expects to get a better job with a high package. After reading this post, I have asked this question: What matters most in life, "Being kind or being clever?"

100% of people said clever. You have to be clever so that people won't take undue advantage of you. However, I firmly believe, and I have self-practiced, that being kind is what pays off in the long run. Kindness gives results 100 times more than cleverness. Because here the law of giving works - what you give is what you get. But I am not sure, "Why should you not expect?"

Regards

What we trip upon day to day as "dream" in layman's terms, we see as "expectation" in corporate jargon. Let me throw that "expectation" into the psychological contract.

The Psychological Contract

"The expectations between the two parties, employee and employer, of what their duties and obligations are towards one another."
- Guest and Conway

We dream of getting the most out of our working relationships. With zero dreams, we have zero disappointment when they fall short of coming true... but that soothing comfort comes only at a terrible price because the world becomes unexciting, our endeavor unsentimental. Is it even human nature? Is it the human heart?

I'd rather be disappointed, upset, sad, angry, frustrated, whatever it is, than having nothing to look forward to. But that's just my opinion. Thank you, but I'll keep my expectations.

Kind vs. Clever: Customer Service vs. Profits

May I rephrase it with Customer Service vs. Profits? Kind (Customer Service) is more important, and that's beyond all suspicion. Forgive me for the lack of experience, but I've never ever heard of/seen/experienced a bankrupt company that can delight customers. If we want to be kind, and want our kindness to deliver what it purports to deliver, we have to be clever in both the kindness's design and delivery. We don't want to express kind words at the wrong time and in the wrong places, right? That's the role for Clever.

My opinion on this is: If it's an either/or matter, it's Kind for granted. But if you're asking about a mix, I suggest some 70Kind/30Clever ratio. Again, it's all my opinion.

Regards,
Aung Ko Ko