Inside the term “unrealistic,” despite its meaning, is the word “real.” Our expectation of life is based on what we believe our reality to be. But do we base our actions on expectation, or a true reality? Despite how rare or uncommon a chance may be to win the lottery, the reality is that you may win. Playing a difficult game and not expecting to win may be considered a realistic mindset, but our perception of reality should not stop us from attempting to find the truth in what is really real.
Expectation: I’m going to miss the bus because I left late.
Reality: I make the bus with time to spare.
Attempting to chase the unrealistic parts of our reality might just be what grows us as lives. Expectation can often be proven wrong, as such with catching the bus, but somehow, it is an outlier and the falsehood of a single expectation does not change our perception of reality. We still believe that if we are late, we will miss the bus.
To a certain extent, our expectations are based around reality; if the bus comes at the same time each day, and I leave with just enough time to catch it most days, then the days I leave late, it makes sense that I won’t catch it. But I will if I run. If your expectation is correct, changing your reality can work too. The reality used to be that it took me 7 minutes to get to the bus stop. Now it takes 4. There are many more possibilities, more buses to get on, more things to do in the meantime, than simply miss your bus. We must begin to think in webs, as is reality, instead of thinking in the black or whiteness of whether an expectation is met or not.