There’s something freeing about having no expectations. Not because everything will magically go right, but because expectations can trap us. When we stop assuming how things should go, we open ourselves to seeing what’s actually in front of us. A lot of times that’s where the real understanding happens, where new opportunities show up, often in ways we couldn’t have planned.

And in those opportunities, I’d like to think we end up finding more of ourselves. Instead of being frustrated by what’s happening, we begin to ask an important question “How am I responding to this?”. It becomes less about control and pushes us to be more present.

At the root of it life isn’t purely about the obstacles we face. It’s about our relationship to them. How we react, what we take from them, and how we move forward. When we cling to expectations, we can end up depending on them for our comfort in some odd stockhold syndrome sort of way. That’s a dangerous place to live. We can end up as people fighting the tide, when instead we choose sail with it.

But when we let go of all that? Everything feels a little different. The world becomes less about what’s wrong and more about what’s possible. You’re no longer filling situations with assumptions..you begin to fill them with yourself. And I don’t meant to say this in an ego driven way, but from the point of view of being present.

So maybe the key is this: focus on the process, not the outcome. Be present and iterate as you’re moving towards it. I don’t know though, I confuse myself sometimes, too. I’ll think about it. All I know at the end of the day is to trust God about everything and things will fall into place. Not always in ways you planned, but often in ways you need.