“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” – Alexander Pope
There cannot be an individual in this world without even a single goal in life. At some point, we all have at least one goal to strive for. I am a person with many goals in my life, and I strive to achieve each one, including my aspiration to compete in the Dictation Competition at the All-Island English Day and Drama Competitions held annually for school children. There are two main reasons for this: first, securing a place at the national level is highly valuable, and second, although it may seem humorous, the pride and recognition we receive from this achievement is an overwhelming feeling that is difficult to express in words. Securing a place at the national level in competitions like Dictation is extremely difficult and unpredictable because we are not dictated a paragraph from the textbook; instead, it’s a paragraph chosen from common sources.
When I set this goal for the academic year 2023, I began practicing regularly, competing at every level, winning first places, and eventually being able to compete at the national level. This is where the ongoing hard work required additional efforts: reading newspapers and journals, writing regularly, and practicing dictation. After practicing consistently, I entered the competition with no expectation of my placing, so I closed the chapter. However, a month later, the Ministry of Education released the complete results sheet, which showed my name in third place. I couldn’t believe my eyes, as it was a great privilege that made me realize that hard work and consistency definitely pay off one day.
Once again I had the same goal in 2024 as well, and the process became a bit hectic as I had to balance both preparation for my A/L exams and the competition, but somehow managed to prepare as well. And again, I had the chance to compete at the national levels, and now after participating, the funniest part was I was filled with high expectations, questioning myself, “What if I win 1st place at the national level this time?” My sense of curiosity increased significantly between the day I took part and the day I got my results. I kept asking myself this question until I ultimately failed to secure a spot.
Moreover, I had similar expectations on the day I returned from India: “What if this flight suddenly gets cancelled and was rescheduled for another day?” Another amusing scenario is that I act like a miniature birthday calendar, wishing people including friends, family, and well-wishers a happy birthday every time, unless I truly didn’t know the birthday. But when it’s the reverse, I only get limited birthday wishes from people, and mostly they forget. The interesting part is that I honestly expect a simple “Happy Birthday” wish from some people, whereas I never miss wishing them on their birthdays. However, here as well, I end up with some sort of disappointment when I do not get the expected wishes within the day, because of those “expectations.”
Now, as readers, you may think these are silly because I have such unrealistic expectations in life. Believe me, until recently I had stopped having unnecessary expectations in life, when I experienced two major achievements that I had no hope or expectation of achieving, but which unexpectedly brought me recognition and happiness.
In my opinion, the moment you begin to set expectations in your life, whether it’s for your profession, relationships, or even your lifestyle, we lose our serenity and become baffled. But I’m not saying we shouldn’t have dreams; simply focusing on the process and staying consistent matters a lot, rather than avoiding unrealistic expectations in life.
After experiencing disappointment and painful circumstances caused by unmet expectations and failed plans, I started to experience the unexpected joy, happiness, and satisfaction that came into my life in its own way, where I started embracing the reality of life, understanding that everything happens for a reason; just go with the flow and allowing myself to adapt to change and trust the process. This leads us to a fruitful, stress-free life!
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