Are Expectations the Root of All Problems? by Otto Collins

I like to challenge my own thinking and my own beliefs to see how solid my beliefs are.

I did this recently when my friend posted a statement on his Facebook profile that said…

“As a Possibility…Expectations Are the Root of All Problems.”

Is this really true?

Since I saw this, I’ve been trying my best to poke holes in this statement but so far still no holes.

So if it’s true, what does that mean about MY relationships and MY problems?

Here are a few examples of how I’m seeing expectations in relation to “problems” in this moment…

If I’m having relationship problems or challenges, the question becomes…

–How am I expecting to have problems?

–How am I holding myself back out of fear I might get hurt?

If I’m holding myself back in any way…

Then that’s an expectation I’m carrying (at least at some level) that’s being met by the reality I’m creating.

–If I’m fearful about my finances, I’m not coming from a place of possibility.

If I’ve got fearful thinking about my finances, then, at some level…

I’ve got some expectation of scarcity and that money WILL BE a problem.

–If I want to lose weight, get healthier or improve my physical appearance in some way and I’m having “problems” creating this new version of me…

Then at SOME level, I would have to be living with some kind of expectation that losing weight is hard.

I’d have to have an expectation that getting healthy will be really difficult so why try.

–If I want to shift my physical appearance in some way and I’m having problems doing it…

Then, I would have to have (at least at some level) some expectation that improving my health is too hard.

So what are expectations anyway except a habitual way of thinking that I’ve made real…

And the truth is that I have the choice whether to continue believing that thinking or not.

As I played around with “choice” and this statement…

“As a Possibility…Expectations Are the Root of All Problems”…

What it triggered for me was a deeper exploration of commitment in my life.

Exactly where is the intersection between commitment VS what is showing up in my life?

So far, I’m seeing a LOT of overlap between the two.

It’s also shifting me in small (and not so small) ways as I look at expectations and commitment both within me and in my life.

It’s shifting the choices I’m making in every moment.

So I invite you to try this statement on and see how it lands for you…

“As a Possibility…Expectations Are the Root of All Problems”

What are you seeing or not seeing around these two ideas of expectations and commitment?

It’s an inner exploration worth taking and if you’d like some help seeing something new, contact me here…

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