A story is told about a young boy who was traveling with his grandmother to a nearby village. The boy, very excited about the adventure, ran back and forth along the path, impatient with his grandmother’s slowness. He snacked on the berries they had brought as he waited for her.
As dusk began to fall, they were still far from the village, and Grandmother said they must stop and make camp.
“But Grandmother,” the boy cried. “I am very hungry, and we have nothing to eat. I have eaten all the berries.”
“There is food in the woods,” replied Grandmother. “Go get us some.”
The boy was gone for a long time before he returned distraught, holding an empty branch. “I looked everywhere, and could find no berries. All the branches were empty. The animals of the forest must have eaten them all.”
“My son,” replied Grandmother. “If all you look for is berries, that is all you will ever find. Look again, and tell me what you see on that branch.”
The boy looked at the branch more closely and realized it was dripping with honey, for stuck at the tip of the branch was a huge piece of honeycomb.
Thursday Thoughts: When you let go of your expectations, you open the door for the unexpected.
day light in room through open door on stairs towards field on black background
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In addition to my regular leadership blog, I offer “Thursday Thoughts” – simple truths for reflection and berries for thought.
Thanks for this good story and accompanying thought about expectations. It seems to suggest that you often get about what you expect and in that case I would say it’s good to have high or many expectations in order to have the desired result. I can think of many examples and a classic one is in education, teaching and learning. Letting go of expectations for students allows them to drift into mediocrity or even worse and we have the results to prove it.
So, while I understand your good intentions about letting go and opening the door for the unexpected. don’t be too surprised if you’re disappointed. On the other hand, you are in good company with Heraclitus (c.535 BC – 475 BC), who said,”If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it”
Good points, Gary. It’s worth considering the definitions of “expect” – 1. to believe (I expect to be able to achieve my goal) 2. to demand (I expect you to complete your homework) and 3. to await or look for (We expected a 10% return on our investment). Although there are some who might argue it applies to all definitions.
Thanks for your clarification, and also for the great Heraclitus quote!
Know what’s of value, why it has value, and keep those in mind. With those values clearly in mind, ask what’s of value consistent with and beyond them!!! Don’t let your expectations falsely impact your opportunities!!! NO one has it all figured out. With a nod to those values, there’s so much more of value by not letting expectations (beyond values) to be in control!!!
Letting go of expectations allows us to see opportunities we would not have seen. As you point out, our values show us which opportunities are of value.