Great Expectations of the Imagination

Everyone has fantasies. Some of us dream of the perfect mate, the perfect job, or the perfect home. We get inspired by something we heard, saw, or read, and we run with it. We imagine ourselves having fairytale weddings, having the corner office with the grand view, or entertaining friends in a grand dining room in the home of our dreams. Something happens to us when we actually obtain these things though, right? With that perfect mate comes their baggage, the corner office comes with a ton of responsibilities, and the perfect home requires a maintenance team that must be appropriately compensated. When the dreams become reality, they’re not always all they’re cracked up to be.
It's human nature to dream and to look for ways to make life comfortable. What we don’t consider is the costs. We don’t think about how light and dark don’t exist without each other. Everything has a downside. However we walk into every situation that we prayed for and manifested deliberately ignoring the downsides because we think we’re setting ourselves up for bad juju. Meanwhile, we don’t realize that we’re just setting ourselves up for aggravation, hurt, and disappointment.
Instead of leaning into the expectations of our imaginations, we need to set realistic expectations and express them to all parties involved. As of late, while I consider a new career path, I’ve been told more than once “Don’t be afraid to ask what they have to offer you.” This is a way of setting realistic expectations. When we walk into a situation, only focused on what we dreamed up, we don’t give ourselves the opportunity to let others know how you expect them to play their part. If a conversation of real expectations never happens, then the thrill of realizing our dream is short-lived.
In every life-altering transition, everyone should consider not only weighing the pros and cons, but they should discuss them, openly. A conversation of sorts can avoid more than the dissatisfaction of what we dreamed of and worked for. It can expose dealbreakers. Knowing the dealbreakers of others helps us to see both sides of a situation, and again we won’t be disappointed in areas where they seemingly don’t comply with our desires.
I am absolutely not saying you shouldn’t go after your dreams, or that you should expect your dreams to disappoint you. I am saying that in order to indulge in and enjoy the dreams that you worked hard to achieve, it’s important to be realistic about them. The unexpected will still occur, but setting expectations prior creates an armor that lessens the blow as well as the ability to move accordingly.